Ghost hunt re-write
by anime-addict-fan
Summary: A different perspective for the story with added elemets, spices, jumped events and the like, based on the lght novel and manga. NaruxMai. May change rating on further chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Alright. This was originally going to be a one shot for the first time stories. Now is not. It is a full re-write of the Ghost Hunt series. Mixed with spiciness, some over powered situations and the like.

I'm using both manga and light novel for reference but not likely to be the exact same thing. I'm using a different perspective. You can instantly notice the difference if you had read the LN. I will some times jump situations or change it to one I like and do know that I may include little details that at the end will basically do a different story.

You have been warned. I have modified the one shot to last longer and fixed some mistakes. Please read it again.

Thank youuuu sooooo much for the reviews. I love you all! ;*

Disclaimer I don't own Ghost Hunt nor it's characters.

Please forgive my misspellings I am on a phone and it loves to eat words. It likes to change my verbs as well and of course I don't have a beta.

* * *

"Kyaaah!"

"Eh? Nonono!"

"A ghost! A ghost is here!"

"Ugh" Mai cried "you're chocking, you're chocking me!" She had one of her friends that had screamed before holding her neck for dear life.

"Noooo!"

*Click* the light turning on could be heard, not so far from the door.

"Ah, were you the one just now, who said five?"

"Yes... is something wrong?" A handsome guy with black clothes stood on the door way.

"Holy cow! You scared me to death!"

"Sorry 'bout that" he didn't sound sorry at all. "The light wasn't on, so I didn't think anyone was in here... But then I heard your voices so..." He trailed off.

"It's okay, no worries. Are you a transfer student?"

"Sort of" he answered giving of an aura of mystery

"What grade are you in?" Her friends continue to ask in rushed questioning.

"I'll be 17 this year" the voice he answered seemed kind of annoyed.

'just because you think he's cute, you guys don't have to get so excited' Mai thought, seemingly unaffected by the sudden intrusion

'why didn't he just said "I'm in second grade?"' she thought when her friend said "then you're our sempai, one year older than us"

Enough! Thoughts about how cute he was crossed her mind, but she shot them down when she noticed that his eyes weren't smiling at all, it was odd. Even when he said his name.

'is that an alias? Why does it feels like a lie?'

"Shibuya-san, or whatever," Mai Taniyama finally asked.

"Yes?" He answered, his smile never reaching his eyes.

'just as I thought, that is a fake smile' a gut feeling grew in her ' he must be scheming something!'

After failing to ask the reason of his presence in an empty school, she began to grew wary of him.

Her friends however did their best to keep him from leaving and as a result a promise to meet tomorrow was made. Mai sighed in defeat and quickly left the room, her friends pouted at her but she just didn't want to deal with him. He on the other hand raised an eyebrow in amusement.

That was a rare occurrence, girls her age stuck to him like flies. It was annoying to say the least but it always made his ego rise

...

The next day started off.

"Ahhh what a beautiful day. I was right about coming to school early. I have all these beautiful cherry blossoms to myself" Mai said out loud. The old building catching her attention instantly.

Curiosity won her over and she couldn't help but remember the rumors about it. She tried to peek at the window and at the end she couldn't see because it was too dark but she was sure that there was a camera inside. Opening the door, she went to reach it wondering out loud why on Earth would a camera be there.

"Who's there? A male voice made her jump and she sighed in relief when she didn't push the shelf out of his place.

"I'm sorry, I'm just looking around. Why is there a camera in here?" She turned to meet the tall man that had scared her

"That is not of your concern, you shouldn't be here. It is best if you leave" an angry vein popped behind her head but something distracted her anger, he got closer and began to push her out.

"If you want me to leave, I will, but what are those things that are floating around you? They're five..." She trailed off

He stopped pushing her and she couldn't help but turn around to meet his face. He stepped back, accidentally hitting the shelf with his back.

"watch out!" Mai did her best to warn him with a scream but it was not enough. She took his hand and pulled him out with all her force, and even like that, his foot was caught by the shelf.

'ohh my gosh! Ohh my gosh! Ohh my Gosh!" Her heart beat was going crazy. She stood and raised the shelf as high as she could and he got his foot out.

'this is bad' she saw the wound from far, the position was wierd as well.

She knelt beside him and he glared at her with killing intent.

"Sir, this will hurt and it may not heal you completely but it should be better than nothing, please don't freak out"

He continued to glare daggers at her, telling her to dare touch him.

She took a deep breath and her hands began to glow, instantly his feet returned to it's natural position, he hissed in pain, she ignored him and the wound began to close up.

He growled under his breath, he hated to be grateful to be healed for something that was partially her fault and perhaps, he hated that he hadn't noticed her spiritual powers before. They were literally being shown at his face and that irked him.

But he recognized something was off about her, he couldn't really tell what. Perhaps...

"What's wrong?" The Shibuya, guy from yesterday said. He was wearing black clothes today as well and not an uniform.

Her glow wavered as she turned to meet his glare. "Lin?" He continued to ask and she stopped healing him and stepped back. "What happened? You dislocated your feet"

Mai swallowed hard, trying her best to get rid of the dizziness.'what should I do? He's still bleeding. Should I risk it?'

"You, do you know if there's a hospital nearby?"

"Yeah there's one right by the school entrance"

The guy named Lin glared daggers at her.

'hey! I just healed you the best I could! Don't give me that look!' she glared back.

"We met yesterday, what's your name?"

"Taniyama!" She glare back at the fake smiling Shibuya from yesterday.

"Well Taniyama-san, your nose is bleeding. Were you hurt?"

"Eh? She brought her hand to her nose. 'crap' "Oh! The school bell just rang. I must go to class, bye bye!" She ran away with the best excuse she had.

...

"Oh hey. Mai, are you going home? Remember Shibuya senpai from yesterday? He said he wanted to join us! Don't you want to stay?"

"No, not really" Mai answered getting her stuff. Today was not her day, she was on a bad mood after being scowled by the teacher for being late and he did it in front of everyone. Not to mention the incident and her headache.

"You're kidding me I can't believe it!" Her friend asked

"Don't you want to see his beautiful smile again? The other friend joined in.

"My head hurts, I will be in the nurse room. Do whatever you want I don't care"

"Ah, come on Mai. Again with the headache? You should see a doctor"

"Yeah, yeah" Mai waved her hand and she went off, hearing her friends talk about ghost and kuroda jumping in to complain about it. She smirked, perfect timing, it was good that she left.

Getting comfortable on the nurse office she decided it will best to recover herself before going home. She had used her abilities and it was quite the achievement to stay for her classes. If she hadn't stopped healing the guy earlier, she might had lost consciousness a long time ago.

Her eyes instantly shot down, and a dreamless sleep took over her. It didn't take long but her alarm rang and it woke her up.

"Ugh" she sat down, it was now or never. She needed to go home.

"You finally woke up"

She inwardly groaned.

"What do you want Shibuya-san?" She brought her hands to brush her eyes, she was tired.

"Kuroda-san, do you know her?"

"Yeah she's a classmate, I haven't talked to her. I don't know much"

"Is she a psychic?"

'what's with this guy?' the look he gave her stopped her thoughts and she answered honestly"Oh, she says she is, so maybe it is true but I'm not sure if what she says is related to that" Mai shook her head in denial "btw is your assistant from the morning ok?"

Naru stopped his musings and met her eyes. "How do you know he is my assistant?"

"Is he not? It was pretty obvious you were the boss on how you addressed him"

"You're very observant" he smirked and a vein popped behind her head something told her that was not a compliment.

"I call it intuition" Mai huffed "so? It tells me you have something else you want to know"

"... What were you doing to Lin's foot?"

"For personal reasons I will not answer that" Mai made to leave, but he blocked the door.

"I know that you partially healed him and that you could sense his shiki. How did you do that?"

'shiki? Nevermind that. This guy, who does he think he is?' She glared at him "Listen Shibuya-san, my intuition tells me that is not your real name and is more like an alias. You work to cover your real goal and I'm pretty sure you're not from here. You better let me leave before I discover something you don't wish me to know"

His eyes sharpened and he stepped away to allow her to leave.

She smirked but then blinked twice and turned to his left instead of leaving she pointed beside him.

"Hey... You have someone hunting you" her eyes widened when she talked.

Shibuya raised an eyebrow, "what are you talking about?" His facade had run out

"He calls himself Eugene, he looks like you.." she was about to continue whe she lost consciousness. His eyes widened and he left her fall to the floor.

"You should really learn how to catch damsels in distress idiot scientist"

"Gene?" He stepped back.

"Hey little brother" Gene stood from his place on the floor, cleaning the dust out of Mai's clothes.

"You... What are you doing? Shouldn't you... cross over?"

"Now, it wouldn't be fun if I did. I need to see you try winning a partner so I can laugh it out" he made a goofy smile.

He momentarily recovered and he glared at him but then a thought crossed his mind "You.. where are you? Where's your body?"

"Now I'm sure you can figure that out, since when did you need my help?" Gene teased him, using Mai's trade mark smirk.

"Gene, you were the perfect medium we need to find you out before is too late"

Eugene frowned, "at least you can say mom and dad want me back home, you idiot"

"Fine, they want you home. Where are you?"

"I'm at a lake"

"I know that, give me the name"

"I don't know the name" Gene shrugged. His twin facepalmed.

"You're an idiot"

"I can say the same thing about you. This girl is a white crow. Don't let her leave" Gene huffed.

"What are you implying?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You will see one day" and with that he left her body and his twin did catch her this time before she met the floor.

A smirk played on his lips, breaking a camera was quite expensive right?

...

"What? What do you mean I have to work as your assistant?"

"You injured my assistant and I need an extra hand, not to mention you broke an expensive camera."

"Aren't they insured?" Mai asked

He smirked, this girl was something else. "That is not an excuse, I still need an assistant, you need to take responsibility for your actions"

*Tch* she clicked her tongue. "What do you work in?"

"I'm with the Shibuya Psychic Research center that was hired by your principal to do research on the old building"

" psikiku researchu... What is that?"

"Aren't you studying English? Psychic Research. A psychic phenomenon investigation service.. And I am the President"

Mai punched the wall 'forgive me for being bad at English' she sighed 'wait what? This doesn't feel like a lie...'

"Wow, you're really smart and handsome you must be really popular"

"You think I'm handsome?" He blinked twice. 'did I surprised him?'

"Yeah... I guess everyone else seems to think so too" her face blushed.

" I see at least you have good taste" his smirk grew.

'that's it, from now on, you're now Naru the narcissist'

...

"I helped you, told you the rumors of this place, took temperatures of the whole place and even set up the equipment. Can I go home now? I'm dead tired"

"We already set up everything, see you tomorrow at the same time"

"What?" 'I can't believe this. But then again I did this to myself. I have been threatening him to use the tools he brought as foot stands if he didn't explain what they were for, or what the base was for. What turns around comes around'

"Will you stay here tonight?"

"No, it is dangerous. I will leave the cameras to record automatically."

"Oh an accident like today may happen, you're really a cautious one"

'That's right. Before you go, what do you think of this place?"

"You're asking me? Why?"

"I hate having to explain everything to amateurs"

"You knew I was an amateur when you hired me. If you have any problem with that, then I won't help you!"

He sighed in defeat "You were present when Lin got injured"

"Oh so you're collecting information from a witness, rather than assuming it was an accident you prefer to have the facts to prove it was"

"Oh, so you have more wisdom than a monkey?"

"Jerk"

he raised an eyebrow, she could feel the frostiness of his fake smile forming at the end oh lips. Shivering slightly she quickly answered "to be honest I know nothing of ghost hunting but this place doesn't feel haunted" he leaned his head to question her, she quickly tried to correct herself "not that I know of haunted places or the like... Well I mean I know but not like I go.. ugh"

He looked at her seriously "Are you referring to the feeling when you saw Gene?"

"Gene? Oh! Um Eugene-san yeah sort of"

"Sort of?" He crossed his arms.

"Listen, I work for you but I won't answer if I don't feel like... i mean... You have your secrets I won't ask so please don't ask. If there's something I consider important I will let you know."

He had a slight glare on. He disliked that others hold on to information. Before he could comment and possibly manipulate her into talking she began to talk again.

"I barely know you from yesterday. My instincts tells me to trust you, yet I'm not ready to talk about myself, whatever I can do or not you will need to find out or wait till I tell you"

He considered this, it is true she was a stranger he just met a day before but he couldn't see her as a pumpkin. Perhaps his brother was right she might be different than the rest, but a white crow was a classification that was out of his tags. And he wasn't willing to take her to that place just so they could classify her as one.

"I understand. In that case if I find out and ask you to verify, you will?" He wasn't one to compromise but this was better than nothing.

"Then if I find out something about you, will you verify? It's not like I can stop my instincts" she bit her lip

That was a huge risk, could he do that? She already knew Gene... Could he really tell her who he was?

"Stop" her voice brought him out of his thoughts "you don't need to answer if you don't want, let's leave this like this, I am a temporary assistant this is for the best. Good night "

It is true, why was he thinking he had all the time in the world to figure her out? He had hired her temporarily...

But then why did it hurt? It hurt to let her leave for the night. He glared at his reflection, he didn't want to form any bonds.

* * *

Wow a bit longer than I thought xD anyone up for a crazy ride with this story? If you haven't noticed I changed the order of the some stuff and added new stuff.

See you next week!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey it's been a while since I have updated this. I haven't been able to, to be honest work is a pain in the butt.

Disclaimer I don't own Ghost Hunt.

* * *

Mai was definitely in a bad mood, it was Friday and the weekend was almost there but she was stuck on having to work on ghost hunting stuff, she kept blaming the great narcissist Naru-chan for having to worry of such matters.

Such a beautiful day and she couldn't help but feel unlucky.

"Mai..."

"What is it? You're a bit to energetic to just greet me" in reality she already knew what her friends wanted and she couldn't help but wanted to expose him to them. After all he had lied, and they were so trapped in his charm to notice.

"Whaaaat? Then Shibuya-san isn't a transfer student?"

"No, no that was just a lie"

"Don't be so disheartened. Since he's not a student of our school that means..." Michiru started waving her hand in dismissal.

And Keiko couldn't stop herself from continuing. "No love rivals!"

Mai couldn't help but turn that down on her head. Just because he wasn't from the same school didn't mean he had no girlfriend. If that was right and they think they could snatch him, how could they deal with a rival if they knew nothing about her? She bit her lip from bursting their bubble.

Suddenly the kuroda girl from yesterday, called out to her asking for details and a request to be introduced.

Mai did her best to shoot her down, kuroda on the other hand was persistent. Claiming to be a psychic and by no means an amateur.

"Ah- Naru-chan is a professional. He even has an office"

"Mai, calling him Naru-chan already, how affectionate of you"

"Narcissist, Naru-chan. You guys stop fantasizing, that guy has a rotten personality"

As she continued to explain in an attempt for them not to get hurt, she took noticed that kuroda was gone.

Her friends kept talking on and when they noticed that she was gone they tried to convince Mai that she was always like that, trying to be the center of the attention.

Mai blinked twice, didn't she just feel a sudden chill? She turned to look at kuroda once again. Something was not quite right with her.

...

School ended and as promised, she went to the back of the old school. There was a silver van parked in the same place as yesterday. Naru was sitting on the back taking a look at the equipment.

"Hello Naru-chan"

He stiffed, He lifted his head and shifted his attention from the equipment to Mai. A surprise look on his face.

"What did you call me? Did Gene tell you that?"

"Eh? You mean he calls you that too? I knew it! Naru-chan short for narcissist!" She patted his shoulder.

"Huh?"

"So what where you doing?" She asked in an attempt to steady her giggles.

He sighed in relief but she was too focused on the screens to notice. "Looking over yesterday's recording"

"Then did you find anything?"

"Nothing unusual"

He began to explain what he meant but then he was interrupted. A self claimed Miko introduced herself, her name was Matsuzaki Ayako. She was rude towards Naru but a cool remark from him set her in place.

The Monk after laughing slightly, introduced himself when Naru turned to him for an answer. His name was Takigawa Houshou.

The two of them started to fight, each defending themselves for their likes and looks.

Mai couldn't help it, she began to laugh.

"And who is the giggling girl with the big mouth?" She pouted, she didn't have a big mouth but quickly answered.

"I'm just a kind-hearted student. I was called out to help him move things"

They then turned their attention to Naru, they kept insinuating he was untrustworthy and the like. Once they got to the point where they mentioned only one person was needed, they turned back to fight against themselves, saying they were enough.

Naru didn't pay them no mind until he was called to be introduced, he sighed already feeling a headache but he did, smoothly to be exact.

"Shibuya Kazuya"

"Shibuya Kazuya? Never heard of it" the Monk commented, Mai will call him Bou-san

"But I never heard your name either. Must be a third class" the Miko added.

While Miko and Bou-san's argument ensued. Naru-chan continued to fiddle with the equipment.

'oh that's kuroda-san, I'm not good dealing with her and she is coming this way'

"Who are those two people?"

"They came here to investigate the old school building. They said they're a priestess and a monk."

"Really..." When those two noticed the raven-haired girl, Kuroda-san bowed in assent, it all went down from there.

When she mentioned she had psychic powers, both the Miko and the Monk didn't believe her but it was Ayako who called her an attention lover.

Mai had failed to assist kuroda but in that exact moment she felt a chill for the second time, it came from her glare... She mentioned something about summoning a spirit using her body, but Mai was too creeped out to pay any attention.

"...My psychic powers really are strong..." the girl said, her eyes hard and resolute. A deadly look hovered in her eyes. "Fake miko, you'll regret this."

"...I'm waiting for it then." The Miko shot her one last glance.

And so kuroda dashed back from the way she came.

To pull herself together Mai shook her head, it was noticed by Naru but he made no comment as he stared into her eyes.

"Naru, let's forget about this... Is there something you want me to do?"

"Naru?" Both spiritualist asked.

"Short for narcissist" she grinned and they returned it with an amused expression. The mood was finally back to normal.

Naru sighed, he has been doing that a lot. "Mai's senior..."

"Ah, you called me by my first name—"

"...Didn't you just do the same thing to me?" Slightly his eyes widened, big mistake.

"But—"

"Which classroom did Mai's senior see the shadow?" He instantly recover from his slip off.

She pay no mind as she corrected it was her friend's senior, not her's. When he said it was the same either way she answered with the location, he simply ordered her to install equipment there as well and just when they were about to enter... A silhouette started coming to them.

"Hold on a moment, who's that person by the principal?" The Miko whispered. "It can't be... Is it another psychic..."

Mai exclaimed in her head ' a foreigner!' due to his looks, he's short with blond hair and blue eyes. He looked too young but her instincts told her otherwise.

The principal smiled warmly. "This is John Brown-san. Please welcome him, everybody."

Brown gave us a deep bow. "How y'all doin?"

" …?"

Miko-san, Bou-san, and even Naru-chan became dumbstruck. "I be Brown. Glad ta meet y'all.

The principal forced a smile onto his inevitable expression.

"Um... Brown-san learned Japanese in the Kansai area..."

Monk-san bust out laughing, followed by Miko-san

The principal took off after a while and when John presented himself as an exorcist they all calmed down.

"About that, I thought in Catholicism you can't be an exorcist unless you're ranked higher than a priest... You seem really young to even be a priest." Naru asked, an eyebrow raised in question

"Thas' right. You, my fella, is very knowledgable. Howeva', I'm 19 already. I jus' look like a young 'un."

When Naru finished presenting himself, he and Mai went back to work, it was strange that everyone else followed inside and after quite a few comments on Naru's base, both Monk and the Miko left to clean up the spirits. John however stayed in an attempt to help Naru or Mai.

He turned to be quite helpful to Mai, he explained the temperature drops and the colors in the screens. He also preferred to be called by his first name, John, so Mai agreed to call him like that. Since Mai had no knowledge she kinda freaked out when a girl dressed in a kimono appeared on one of the monitors.

She looked just like a living human, with that jet-black hair of hers. She was also about the same age as Mai. The girl looked at another direction, then turned and left. She was no longer in the screen.

"Wh-... What was that, just now?"

Naru-chan rose and headed towards the door. His expression didn't change at all.

"Don't worry mate she is a living person"

"If you're talking about me, then I'll introduce myself. I'm Hara Masako." The kimono doll like girl was at the door.

"Who?"

Naru sighed. "She's a very famous psychic medium. She's great at summoning spirits, probably the best in Japan."

After a short introduction from Naru's part she asked "Have we... Met before?"

"I think this is the first time we met."

"...Really...?" she said, turning around to face the pile of equipment "...I don't think there're ghosts here. Even though the principal was in a panic over it, there's nothing here. I also don't feel the presence of any spirits."

"Really..." Naru said, contemplating her words. His gaze settled on Mai and before he could say something, A loud, knocking sound and a woman's scream echoed through the building.

"Is that Matsuzaki-san's voice?" John asked.

Naru was the first to go out and the rest quickly followed, it didn't take long to find her locked on a classroom. It was easily taken down by the Monk and Naru checked the door. A smirk formed in his lips.

"I was checking out the classroom, when all of a sudden, the door closed by itself and it wouldn't open"

More questions were made but Masako commented out loud that there were no ghost around.

A small fight started when Ayako turned to Masako, recognizing her from the TV and claiming it was all thanks to her looks and no abilities.

Then as on clue, everyone started to input their theories.

Naru looked at the nail in his hand, then nodded. "Spirit...seirei, ghost is yuurei. Are you listening, Mai?"

Mai managed to control herself and John kindly explained everything.

It was set that everyone would try to exorcise the spirit tomorrow since the dark, crimson glow of the sunset shined through the windows, leaving a rosy shine on the glass windows.

"Naru-chan, it's getting dark."

Naru lifted his head towards the window.

He nodded then ordered her to set equipment on the classroom at the West side, of the second floor.

Bou-san asked, when Mai returned "hey, boy, you're not staying here, are you?"

"Not today... But I might stay tomorrow."

'great! That means I'm free now!' Mai thought, a smile growing up in her face.

Naru turned to look at her "Come here after school tomorrow."

"Wait! Tomorrow's Saturday—"

"It doesn't matter what day of the week it is. You must work."

"But staying here is kinda..."

"Lin is unable to work, I still need help, unless you want to pay someone to come in and replace him?"

"...I'll be ready." She sighed

Bou-san just shrugged and left, the rest quickly followed.

"Um... Naru?"

"I believe we already discussed you will come tomorrow. Or your brain can't even process that?"

"Ugh, smarty pants this is important! I'm trying to honor my promise from yesterday but if you prefer I will go home and let you know when I feel like it"

Mai turned around and began her way out but Naru stopped her by grabbing her hand. A small electric current made both of them back off.

Naru raised an eyebrow and grabbed her hand for the second time. This time nothing happened. She blushed and took her hand out of his.

"Listen. I will be quick. Your brother is not exactly around you, he's... Well sleeping?. Well sorta, it is quite difficult to explain. He is on a different plane, his plane to be exact. Um and I believe this people..." She mentioned to the spiritualist... "Are the real deal even the Miko but only Masako Hara can see spirits"

"Why, is that your instinct?"

She smiled and Naru's eyes slightly widened "yeah!" She instantly blushed and ran away when she noticed he was staring at her.

He blinked twice, there was no way he likes her, his poker face was on and no color made it through his cheeks. 'Then why was he bitting his lower lip? Why did his hand reached for her's a second time?' a glare finally made it to his face. There was no way this could happen.

* * *

Ouch, this was quite a lot. I want to write the blood stained labyrinth so bad it keeps me awake!

Anyway, how do you feel this? Did you notice how I love to jump stuff? This was mostly based on the LN but few hints and situations came from the manga and from my own story.

See you soon!


	3. Chapter 3

Yup I'm still alive! Hope you guys are as well xD

Special thanks to CaitHawke4Ever, Skye1331 and Sageofchaos for the reviews! You guys rock!

Disclaimer I don't own Ghost Hunt. If I did I would have done the live action already, or a freaking movie or even better the second season of the anime. A drama CD or whatever to collect xD

* * *

"Rival?"

"That Masako Hara that's on Tv?"

Both Michiru and Keiko kept bothering her with questions.

"You know her?"

"Yeah... The psychic medium on that popular show... She's about our age. She's also really pretty..."

"Mmm I guess so, she really looks like a Japanese doll" Mai commented but then she noticed the depressed look on her friend's faces. "Hey, didn't I say it already... Give up on Naru-chan. He's not as nice as he looks, he's a liar, and he's a poison-tongued narcissist to boot."

"But he's handsome!"

Mai couldn't help but think it was a lost cause, she was really getting tired and no matter what she said, they will still think the same.

Somehow she turned around and met Kuroda's stare, she appeared to want to say something but chose to turn around and leave.

Well it was wierd, but Mai preferred to focus on how to escape her friends, after all it will be troublesome to be followed.

She succeed when they began to argue and was glad to find the weather was great, like yesterday. A raining day will be scary to say the least since she had to work the night shift.. the strange thing was that she wasn't scared at all and she couldn't decide if that was good or not.

She opened the door of the base and came to find Kuroda-san alone near the equipment, no sign of Naru being near.

"...What are you doing?" Mai asked.

"Nothing. I'm just looking around. Shibuya-san doesn't seem to be here." Kuroda-san touched the equipment beside her.

"It's best if you don't touch anything. Naru-chan will get angry."

She ignored Mai and instead began to ask about yesterday's incidents, when she heard about Masako she instantly replied with a claim that she was an imposter..

Mai inwardly disagreed with her, but then she thought 'Maybe Kuroda-san is the only one who can feel it? '

Just when she thought it Kuroda gazed intensely into her eyes. "I... Was just attacked."

Eh?!

"When I was walking in the corridor, a force suddenly started pulling my hair. I wanted to run, but then it grabbed my neck..." She continued to insist adding more unusual comments to support her, "I even heard a voice telling me, 'Your psychic power is too strong. You're in the way.'."

Mai couldn't say anything, the air just felt to heavy and she couldn't help but wonder, how could she know if this was a lie? She was no good for judging since she had never been inside a hunted place... She knew nothing. Her knowledge was limited. In fact- she was interrupted from the thought process.

"What's the matter?" Naru asked, he was at the door...

After he heard Kuroda-san talk about her story, Naru was silent and thought about if for a while. "When did that happen?"

"Just now. At first I was scared and wanted to go back out, but then I saw all this equipment, and I gave it a second thought. I just got here"

After being told the exact time and place he rewinded the video. A static feedback appeared on that specific time, followed by a white screen. Then the screen turned all black.

Naru contemplated his ideas, then quickly turned to face Kuroda-san. "Kuroda-san, you said you heard a sound. What kind of sound was it?"

"It was an unclear sound, but it sounded like a little girl's voice."

"Really..."

Mai couldn't help but lean her head to the right, "is there really a spirit here?"

Naru turned to her, a small smirk on his lips.

"Normally... Female mediums have different wavelengths. Maybe her wavelength is the same as that of the ghost. If the old school building does have a ghost, then that ghost might have the same wavelength as Kuroda-san."

Kuroda nodded with satisfaction, a small laugh escaping her. "Perhaps" was all she said because suddenly everyone else plus the director and an old teacher entered the base. Ayako was in front dressed in her priestess garments. Her exorcism was about to start.

With her awful personality she ordered John to help her set the altar. Everyone made their comments, they had doubts but they turned to watch.

She clapped her hands, waving a stick with white slips of paper attached. "I invite you to cautiously come down onto the earth, white light enshrining the spirit...

"I have no idea to what on Earth she is saying" Mai whispered

Naru made an annoyed like face. "You're Japanese yet you don't know what a Norito is?"

"Norito?"

"A Shinto prayer"

Mai nodded, now she knew what it was but didn't understand the monotonous and repeated sentences the Miko said, she tried to stay awake but she ended up falling asleep like Bou-san.

...

"Now there should be nothing to worry about. Our work here is finished." Ayako laughed while she talked to the principal after the ceremony.

The principal was really happy, so much that he invited everyone for lunch even when Ayako told him that there was a need to check everything after the exorcism.

Mai instantly stood up, a sudden chill running up her back, Naru simply raised an eyebrow to her behavior

*Creak*

It was then that a loud sound came from the ceiling, quickly followed by a sound of something breaking.

And at the same time, the light bulb on the door shattered, along with the windows.

*Bang*

White smoke rushed out. Right afterwards, window glass shards shot towards the principal. It was a total disaster. Kuroda snickered while the principal made his angry retords. Masako claimed it was and accident and that there were no spirits..

A total mess, Mai on the other hand narrowed her eyes to kuroda, she was sure now that she had something to do with this building, her hand tried to reach her but was stopped mid air... What could she do? Mai bit her lip wishing to be a psychic in order to be able to find out what was going on and solve it.

Turning around she looked into the screens. She noticed something strange on the second floor on the west side, the equipment she set there had a chair right in front of it.

"Naru-chan," she interrupted Naru's conversation with Bou-san.

"What's wrong?"

Just when he got closer, she pointed at the TV screen. "There's a chair in the middle of the room. It wasn't there yesterday. There were no chairs in that area."

Naru raised his eyebrows, then asked the psychics behind him, "Did anyone go to the classroom on the west side?"

They all looked at each other before answering, "No we didn't...?

While everyone was watching, Naru rewinded the recording. He replayed the video. The recording was when the glass windows broke. The camcorder in the classroom on the west side, showed how the chair moved. Apparently no one touched the chair. It was in front of the blackboard, when it suddenly started moving little by little, until it reached the middle of the room.

"Is it a poltergeist?" Kuroda asked

"Poltergeist?" Mai asked, unsure of what that was.

"It means 'noisy spirit.' Like when an object moves or a sound is produced. —Right, Shibuya-san?"

"Right. You seem to have a clear understanding of this. But I don't think this is a poltergeist"

"Why is that?" Kuroda narrowed her eyes

"According to the thermography, that chair's temperature did not rise. This kind of thing never happens. Since objects moved by poltergeists are usually warm."

Kuroda was dumbstruck.

."Aren't there other conditions that would categorize this as a poltergeist? I think this is a poltergeist." John asked, lightly scratching his face

Naru- smiled slightly. "Tisane."

"Huh"?" Mai couldn't stop herself from reacting, she took a look at everyone else and they all seem to have the same expression with the exception of the great Masako Hara. Even Bou-san looked clueless.

"And you all call yourselves psychic, how shameful" the medium commented hiding her mouth with her kimono sleeve.

Naru sighed 'was he disappointed?' "Of course, Hara-san would know, a French officer, who classified poltergeists."

He crossed his arms while he continued to explain "There are nine categories in total. Explosions, opening and closing of doors, noises, knocking... Out of the nine conditions, three occurred here: a door closing by itself, a moving object, and a shattered window. But we lack evidence to qualify this as a poltergeist haunting."

It was a slip of Mai's tongue but she asked about Kuroda's incident and the person herself ended explaining it again for everyone else to hear about it. In that moment Naru carefully re-examined the TV that didn't record the incident.

It was just a moment but Mai catched him glaring daggers at her while Kuroda proudly shared her story.

...

It was then that Bou-san asked Masako's input for that event.

"...There are no ghosts in the old school building," Masako calmly repeated before walking out of the classroom.

John looked at Masako's figure as she left. "It seems like she got quite a blow there."

"Of course," Naru replied, "psychics can see things that normal people can't. If you mess up, then you can't be considered a psychic anymore."

A small discussion began after that, claiming that Naru just go for pretty faces. Mai was surprised to say the least when she heard that, she had thought about it, but didn't say it out loud.

The discussion turned to the worst when something about treating them with respect was brought and the Monk and the Miko began to fight.

Mai was trying her best to remain calm but something was bothering her. Her gut to be precise. She turned to look at the roof and unconsciously got closer to Naru.

He noticed but was annoyed by the rest so he paid no mind.

The sound of wood breaking silenced the heated argument from the Monk and the Miko

Then a loud knocking sound came from the ceiling.

Bou-san looked at the surroundings, "A rapping sound?"

Just like before when the window broke, a chill ran down Mai's back. 'No way... That can't happen to Masako Hara right?'

*Crack... Thump...* The sounds were coming from the west side of the ceiling.

Adrenaline ran through her, she was about to run off when Naru grabbed her arm.

"Where do-" she interrupted him

"Let go, she's in trouble"

"What?"

*Crash*

Along with the faint cracking sounds, a loud, splitting sound shot through the air from the west side. Followed by a piercing scream.

The room was completely silent again.

Suddenly, John shouted, "Hara-san!" And Mai slumped to the ground, hiding her face in denial

Out of nowhere, John rushed towards Naru's TV screen. "Hara-san fell from the second floor!"

Naru let go of Mai's arm and turned to look at her with an unreadable expression

* * *

So freaking long! But I don't really want to rush this, if possible I would like to jump towards the doll house and blood stained arc but no, I need this.

See the slight changes?

Hope you like them ;)


	4. Chapter 4

Happy New year! I'm so sorry for not updating. Last year was a mess I was unable to write due to many circumstances that will bore you to death if I explain them. Just know that I will keep writing my stories no matter how long it takes. First time stories will be my next update but I'm unsure if I will be able to do it today or this week... I appreciate the support and patience! Love you all.

Special thanks to Mortisvenom and CaitHawke4Ever! Thank you so much for the reviews! Yeah kuroda is kind of hard in the LN xD

Disclaimer I don't own Ghost Hunt

* * *

It didn't take long for the ambulance to take her away. Masako Hara had fallen from the classroom on the west side of the second floor.

She fell three meters before hitting the ground but thankfully she fell on a soft spot on the ground and not in the metal pipes that were place there during the investigation.

"Before Hara-san shifted into unconsciousness, she insisted that there are no ghosts here. She said this was an accident due to her carelessness." Naru told everyone including the principal who was still mad due to the accidents.

"But..."

"That classroom was old and worn. There was no wall on the west side of the classroom. There was only a wooden plank, worn down by the weather. That wooden plank cracked and broke." Naru took a pause in his explication "I will go back and continue to investigate. Rest assured I will get to the bottom of this" Naru bowed, then left for the old school building.

A small fight started claiming that the place was dangerous and it may had been Ayako's fault when she failed in her exorcism.

Naru had returned "Don't jump to conclusions. The camera recording revealed it as an accident. It's exactly what Hara-san said: she was careless."

Mai had to agree. Masako didn't seem to know that the wall wasn't firm. She didn't know it was only supported by a rotten wooden plank. It could be seen how she accidentally leaned on the wooden plank, making it crack. The camcorder recorded the entire incident.

Still... "Hey, Naru? Aren't places considered haunted because bad things like accidents or suicide happen there? Whether it's an accident or a suicide, don't both happen for a good reason? But in the end, people still believe those places are unlucky..." Mai couldn't help but comment her thoughts.

When it was said that way, Naru crossed his arms, contemplating the matter deeply.

"That may be right but there have been no responses to the equipment. There have been no temperature declines, no ion deviations, and no electromagnetic wave abnormalities. All of the data appear normal."

Kuroda jumped and started listing the events that have gone so far.

"That's why it doesn't make sense"

"The spirits must be so strong that they can fool us into thinking they're not here" Bou-san advised

Naru just remained silent, it was like he couldn't agree but at the same time he couldn't refuse that.

"What do you think it is"

John, Ayako and Bou-san shared their thoughts. Different names for spirits were given with the possibilities behind them. John commented that he will try doing an exorcism to see how it goes...

"What about you?"

"I will share my opinion later. I'm going to research this from a different angle"

"Mai."

"Yes."

"I'm going back to the van. You stay here. If anything happens, call me," Naru said, pointing to a microphone. "This microphone is linked to the van."

"Okay."

...

After Naru left, Bou-san and Ayako share their doubts about him even if he had expensive equipment.

"I think he is trying to cover all the basics. Mostly have evidence to say 'there's nothing logical that could had cause this' or the like" Mai commented.

"Eh Jou-chan could it be that you're defending him? How long do you know him?" Bou-san smiled hitting something that was uncatchable to Mai

"He is my boss so yeah and I met him the day before yesterday? Would it be better if I had said 'since all evidence that may give a reasonable explanation has failed it is to be treated as a supernatural event' or along the lines?"

"What's up with this kids? They are all turning out to be smarty pants" Ayako commented

"Hey!-" John interrupted Mai

"I guess I should give it a shot"

"Ah.. What a huge honor, Exorcist," Bou-san mocked.

John nodded slightly.

Mai sighed in disapproval of the tone and asked "Do you need help with anything?"

"No. But when I start praying, keep an eye on the equipment. There might be a response."

"Okay."

...

Suddenly the TV's connection was cut, leaving the screen filled with black-and-white static. Something was wrong with the video camera. Even the angle it was recording from changed...

In panic she grabbed the microphone that was connected to Naru's car.

'huh?' it was on. It has been on the entire time... 'Did he did that on purpose? Wait…..did he heard what we said?' she turned to look at the screens and ruffled her hair. 'no time for that!'

"Naru."

"What's wrong?"

"The TV screen is all static."

"That's all right. Once it's dark, the videocam changes its recording mode. How's the situation?" Relief made it through her. Forgetting about the microphone being on

"John said he's going to perform his exorcism... Ah, he's here."

He had changed into priest robes. Walking to the classroom, he lifted a cup filled with water. He dipped his finger in the water and drew a cross on the altar with it. After he drew the sign of the cross on the altar and wall, he placed the altar, some gray candles, and a cross onto the platform. The room brightened after he lit up the candles. Then John placed his hands together, bowed his head, and prayed. A faint sound came from the microphone.

"Heavenly God, please allow us to worship you."

Mai turned to Bou-san "what's that water for?"

"It's Holy water" he answered

"God, your soul becomes our heaven and the earth." The TV screen was recording this smoothly. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

"In the beginning was the word. The word was with God. The word was God..." After constantly staring at the TV screen, Bou-san finally stood up. "I'm going out for a walk."

"I'm going too." The Miko also stood up.

Just when they did a small sound catched Mai attention, she turned the volume up.

Sensing the change in volume they got closer and they too noticed the rapping sound.

"Ne... Naru"

"What's wrong?"

"There's a rapping sound" Bou-san continued since Mai got away from the screens. She knew this feeling. But what... 'the ceiling!'

'Something is wrong with the ceiling!' without looking back she ran.

"Taniyama-san?!" Kuroda cried out.

As quickly as she could she ran near the room John was in, hearing a loud cracking sound.

"John! John!" She forcefully slid the door open, a surprised John stared at her.

"Mai-san..."

"John, it's dangerous. Come out now!"

"Eh?!" She grabbed his had and pulled him out.

Not even a second passed when the ceiling came crashing down, rocking the floor. With the candle knocked over, the room was pitch black.

...

The flashlight flickered, then lit up. The rubble covered up the entire classroom. Pieces of wood and stone were scattered all over the floor. ...The west side of the roof completely collapsed.

"If Mai-san didn't call me, I would've been in trouble," John said, his voice quivering slightly. Naru picked up a piece of rubble and examined it. He looked like he was in a trance

He sighed. "I think that's enough for tonight. Mai you may go home now"

"Really!?" She cheered up, but something was off... Naru suddenly looked exhausted.

A small fight began when Ayako said it was dangerous and that it was better to leave, Bou-san accused her to be scared but Naru sided with her, telling them all to go home.

"Naru, what about you? You're not going home?" Mai asked when they were at the entrance.

"I have to investigate more."

"Mmm don't over work yourself, here have this" she gave him a thermo filled with tea and cookies that she got out of her backpack.

"Don't need them"

"I won't take that, you look like you can use a bit of sugar. Besides I was originally planning to stay and help you"

He glared at her.

"I know, I know. Eat a bit at least, see ya tomorrow!" She ran away waving her hand in good bye.

He watched her go and turned to look at the thermo... Sighing he went to base and sat down glaring at the screens...

Since nothing was going on he opened his laptop and began to look at the data. Hours passed with no activity, he took a look once more to the thermo and opened it up.

He filled the top of it and was surprised to find it was tea, warm enough for his taste.

...

She ran towards the old building, she was worried that he may had stayed all night inside but her gut told her otherwise. Opening the door she took notice that most of the equipment has been packed and moved out, the screens were off as well...

"Huh..."

She slowed down before running towards the van.

Naru was leaning on the equipment, fast asleep. A small smile made it to her lips as she knocked on the car window.

"Naru!" "You're going to catch a cold sleeping in here"

He opened his eyes slightly, apparently still in a daze from sleeping. Then he looked at her..

"Mai"

She blushed lightly but quickly recovered "good morning"

"What are you doing here this early in the morning?" Naru ruffled his hair.

"It's not early at all. It's already past 11 o'clock."

"It's not afternoon..."

"Your looks are part of your weapons you better take care of yourself"

"Unnecessary concern"

"Yeah yeah, I made coffee. Do you want some?"

"You are hardly ever this sharp."

"Can't you at least say thank you? "

"No"

"Jerk" She took out the coffee that she brought and poured it into a cup, then handed it to him.

"Last night, did you find anything?"

"Yes."

Before she could ask more the arrival of the rest interrupted her.

"What's going on little boy. Already packing up?" Bou-san mocked.

"Correct"

"You must be kidding!"

Naru placed a hand on his head. "Please don't be so loud to someone who just woke up... I just went to sleep a little while ago."

"Then why?"

"I've decided that this case has been solved."

"You exorcised the ghost?" Bou-san asked

."No."

Naru slowly picked up his files and handed them to Bou-san.

"What's this?"

"Last night, the old school building sank 0.2 inches."

"What did you say?" Bou-san snatched the graphs from Naru and carefully examined them

"I don't understand."

Miko-san interjected, "What's going on?"

"Land subsidence."

"What? Are you saying that all the phenomenon were caused by land subsidence?!"

He didn't answer but rather provide a sheet of paper. "A level scale graph, a geological diagram, and a water-course diagram," Naru muttered, placing each diagram beside him.

They all stared at them.

"Do you understand this?" Asked Mai to Bou-san.

"Not at all"

Sighing Naru stretched. "The building was built on moist land. The workers had placed fresh soil on this land in an attempt to lessen the moisture before the school was built. Based on the number of wells around the area, there is a big water vein running beneath the school."

Everyone stared again at the diagrams. Countless circles were drawn in them diagrams.

"Now only two wells remain, both of which are dry. This is what I discovered yesterday."

"... You say that but I have no idea what you meant" Mai questioned him. With a please explain look.

Naru nearly face palmed but instead he ruffled his hair.

"What I'm saying is, the building is weak because it was built on damp soil. Furthermore, the water vein is almost dry. Because of these factors, the building is sinking. Moreover, the building is sinking at an alarming rate. The area that is sinking the fastest is..." He pointed at a diagram "the building will go down by it's own in no time"

"That's fine but it still doesn't explain the day I was attacked!" Kuroda jumped

"Perhaps it is a floating spirit that likes to follow you around"

"Then, are you done with your work?" she pressed.

"Not yet. I will be after I finish writing my report today."

'yes! I'm so happy~ I won't have to get tangled up with this guy again. So happy... …?'

"I still think there's a ghost here," Kuroda insisted.

"There is none."

Kuroda was stubborn, unwilling to accept Naru's words. She kept claiming there was still a ghost even with land subsidence.

"There are none. My investigation has showed me that there are no ghosts here."

"There's-"

"Well then, you can exorcise it. I believe my work here is done, so I'm packing up."

Kuroda looked timid for a moment. She turned around to avoid Naru's piercing gaze

"This sucks." Mai whispered

"Because I'm about to leave?" Naru smirked.

"Not everything is around you! Narcissist jerk! At least you didn't find out what- you know what? Let's leave it like that. The end of a dream" she smiled.

"Huh?"

"The old school building is in the corner of the school. No matter how you look at it, it seems like something's there, and that's how the rumors about the ghosts started. ...Doesn't that seem sort of romantic?"

"But aren't you scared of it?"

"...That's two different things. It's a scary feeling, but it's also a happy one. Do you understand? Is a kind of feeling but... Since everything was caused by land subsidence, it doesn't feel romantic at all... Soon the old school building will fall down and be replaced by a gymnasium. All the rumors will eventually fade away too... It's kind of sad. Even though I wouldn't like it if people died here, I still like talking about ghost stories."

"...Is that so?"

"Yes, it is."

Crack..!

"Huh?"

The windows cracked...

"Mai! Get away!" But she didn't listen and instead went to help Kuroda.

"Is the building collapsing?" Naru asked without confidence, there were knocking sounds hitting the walls...

Suddenly the door shut then the door opened and closed by itself. No one touched it. It just automatically opened and closed. When the door closed one more time, the windows completely shattered, going for Kuroda's body. She screamed but Mai instantly grabbed her and dashed with her away from harm

"Let's get out of here is not safe!" Naru opened up the window. They were shards every where but Mai jumped without hesitation, shelding Kuroda. Naru followed right after.

...

The building grew quiet just when they left Everyone else had gone outside.

"Are you okay?" Mai asked Kuroda

Ayako quickly went to assist her and began medical treatment while Bou-san began to argue with Naru, a one sided argument to be exact since Naru replied calmly to him. The Miko soon join in and then they left claiming to be fools for believing in him.

John quickly helped Kuroda stand, he turned around to Mai and nodded as he took her away.

"Naru your hand"

"Huh?" He looked at his hand, finally noticing his injury. "It's okay. It's not a big deal."

Naru didn't even turn around to look at her. His tone was cold, and his face expressionless. "Help Kuroda instead"

"She is no longer here and she was already bandaged" Mai said taking his hand. He slapped it away.

"Don't...As of now, I need to calm down. I hate myself so much I can't stand it."

"Alright. I will leave you alone, I already healed you up after all"

His eyes widened and after he confirmed there was no wound... He turned to glare at her. He hadn't felt a thing...

"You could had heal her instead"

Mai shrugged. "She is a classmate, I don't need that kind of attention and it was not a life threatening wound" she turned to Leave not noticing the realization that was crossing his mind.

Not hearing anything from him, Mai simply sighed. 'What a prideful person'... She continued to walk away.

...

It didn't take long for everyone to come back and enter the old building, Kuroda however was sent home. but to their surprise Naru was gone. Both the Monk and Miko began to talk about him, that he was embarrassed and that had run away. They then began arguing that they the would exorcise the spirit. And useless comments that Mai ignored.

John however helped Mai "Is this really okay? Moving all the equipment back?"

"It's all right. If we need to use it again, we'll just move them back. Plus, this place might collapse anytime soon."

Ayako snickered. "Do you still believe that kid's theory about land subsidence?"

She glare back at her. "Do you have any evidence that he's wrong? If you're going to laugh, at least get evidence that evil spirits are here first." For a moment she looked insulted, but she didn't say anything.

"You really like to stand up for him, huh."

"That's because right now, he's my boss." She continued carrying out the equipment. The Monk had began his chats and so did the Miko...

Nothing out of the ordinary happened... After finishing up she waited in the van for Naru but the sky darkened and the rest began to leave

Having no other choice. She closed the van and left as well.

* * *

Super long to make it up for the time I didn't update. I didn't change that much thou...see you soon!


	5. Chapter 5

Alright, I'm on fire!

Disclaimer I don't own Ghost Hunt

Thank you so much for the follows, faves and reviews!

Special thanks to CaitHawke4Ever, Mortisvenom, Joys. 3

Mortisvenom: yup I know what you mean, I already learned my lessons with my other stories xD solving the case in one chapter plus doing too much OP is way too repetitive, it feels is alright if the chapter has a lot of words but when is short... Let's say it could had been better. I still plan to re-write everything I had written, but so far I wish to do this first ;)

* * *

"Mai-san, I set up a tape recorder on the second floor" John said while getting down the stairs, so far Naru hasn't come back and is way past morning.

"Ah thanks, thank you for helping me"

"No problem, I'm gonna go look around a little as well"

"Okay be careful"

They placed the 24-hour tape recorders in the west side of the building, the place where Kuroda was attacked, and the lab room. Bou-san and Miko-san were patrolling the building.

'I have decided to wait for Naru but... Is he really coming back?'

A sudden noise and the figure of a shadow caught her attention.

"Naru?" She held her breath but sighed when she saw it was the shadow of a girl... "Kuroda-san..."

She asked Mai and looked around, "How's the situation?"

"After you left, both Bou-san and Miko-san did an exorcism. Now they're just walking around the place."

"...Oh. What about Shibuya-san?"

"He's not here. He went somewhere else."

"...Really."

"Hey, you said there're ghosts here. What kind are they?"

She cocked her head. "I saw many ghosts of injured people here."

"That's right, you mentioned that"

'ugh I really wish to have psychic powers, I may have a few tricks under my sleeve but come on! Wait, maybe Eugene-san know what's going on.. he is a spirit right? Now that I think about it, being able to see him and that guy blobs (Lin's shiki) wouldn't that make me a psychic? Although if I was, shouldn't I know what is going on then? That answers it, I am not a psychic, after all I am a-'

"Well now," the Miko said, wrinkling her brow as she noticed Kuroda. "This is not the time to be playing games."she was coming down the stairs as mighty as she could, effectively distracting Mai from her thoughts.

"...Was the exorcism successful?" asked Kuroda.

"Is that any of your business?" the older woman retorted coldly.

"Shibuya-san said that... My wavelength is the same as the ghost's."

"Really? Is Naru's word reliable?" She smirked. "Any way, the exorcism is over. I stayed here because I'm careful. You kids should just go home and sleep."

"That's what you said last time, and you weren't successful then," Mai smiled innocently.

Kuroda however continue to claim the presence of the ghost were still there and the Miko soon began to argue with her, John and Bou-san came closer because of the commotion.

Bou-san thought it was not enough and he began to claim he had succeeded in his exorcism while hinting that the Miko had failed and the huge argument began.

'Those two just can't help but bicker.' Mai turned around, sighing loudly but she soon noticed that John was looking up at the ceiling. She followed his gaze. 'Hmm? What's that? A stepping sound'

They were footsteps from the second floor... The argument halted when both the Miko and Bou-san looked up at the ceiling as well. Stomp stomp stomp... Someone's running up and down.

Bou-san stood up. "What kind of sound is it...?"

"Sounds like someone running..." Miko-san replied, looking at everyone.

In a rush Bou-san ran up the stairs, looked at the platform, then came down.

"Was anyone there?" We all asked.

"...No."

"Well, what about those footsteps we heard?"

"Maybe we heard wrong."

"Heard wrong? How can we hear wrong? I was listening very carefully." Mai narrowed her eyes "don't you guys dare come with half baked excuses, like it was the wind. At the very least Naru had evidence and never once refused any of your suggestions like you did with him. It is ridiculous that both of you can't admit that your exorcisms failed. Are both of you really behaving like adults!?" She glared at them.

They turned away. John quickly put a hand on her shoulder and Mai simply recovered her breath. "I'm sorry, I know that the three of you are the real deal, and I can confirm that Masako Hara is as well. Just don't try to cover the sun with a finger. It is alright if they're mistakes, and failures. We are humans after all" she smiled kindly at them.

They sighed in defeat and quickly returned her smile. "You're right" they both answered in unison, when they noticed they turned their heads to the other side.

"I was wrong" the Miko exhaled

"So was I" Bou-san brushed his nose in shyness.

"Let's apologize to Naru-chan when he comes back" John smiled.

Mai smiled greatly at them and nodded in approval, but then there it was, the chill was back. She quickly turned to Kuroda, something was glowing out of her.

"I am not lying, I am the real deal as well"

"I never said anything against it" Mai defended.

"You said nothing about me"

"Because they are trying to-" the sound of a door opening and closing came from the second floor interrupting her reply.

Bang! Bang!

It sounded as if the building would come crashing down. Mai backed away from Kuroda, the flourescent light cracked open making little pieces of glass fall to the floor.

"Let's get out of here, the ceiling may collapse" Bou-san shouted.

Mai hadn't noticed until the sound of the shoe cabinets reached her ears, it was swaying dangerously, and she pulled her hands in front of her as it came falling on top of her.

'Huh? It was warm as hot water. ...Didn't Naru say something like this earlier? Objects that poltergeists touch will be warm to the touch... " It was too heavy and she soon crumbled under its weight. Her scream was the last she remembered.

...

'ah'

her head was throbbing, she opened her eyes, the place she was felt good specially the wind that was blowing on her face, but everything was dark, she recognized that it was the back of the van after her eyes adjusted to the darkness. For a moment she thought that the car was in motion but she soon realized that she was just dizzy.

No one was around.

'That's right. The shoe cabinet fell on me. Yeah, that's it. This must be a curse that the injured assistant casted upon me.' she laughed lightly.

She began to wonder where had everyone go, were they alright? But of course her dizziness increased and so did her headache. She tried her best to sit but she felt as if her energy was drained. 'Did I hurt myself real bad? Am I doing that again?'

This time she desperately tried to sit. A soft pale hand pushed her back.

"Huh, who is it?"

His face soon became visible in the darkness.

'Naru? No ..' she swallowed, "Eugene-san?"

He smiled kindly "don't move"

She smirked, "if only Naru could smile like that"

He raised an eyebrow before he could ask something Mai asked. "Is anyone nearby?"

"No" his voice was really soft.

"Hmm"

"You should rest for a while. It's best not to get up yet."

"Okay... Do you want me to say anything to him?"

"...No, I will do it myself"

"Kay thank you"

He smiled and shook his head, "..." She didn't catch what he said...

...

She woke up, her head hurt even greater than before.

"Are you okay?" Bou-san asked, quite shocked be exact.

"Uh yeah"

"What's wrong with you? We kept trying to wake you but you wouldn't come, you even stopped breathing! Thought you were dead!" The Miko cried.

"Huh?"

"Don't huh me, you scared us!"

"Um sorry"

"Yo, calm down Ayako. She's fine"

"Shut up you stupid monk!"

"Thank goodness Mai-san doesn't have any serious injuries," John said, his voice full of relief.

She calmed down after that.

"Did Naru returned? Where's kuroda?"

"Nope" the Monk answered."she left a long time ago"

"... really?"

"Coming to think about it, where would your boss be? You don't think he may be curled up under his blanket crying out loud? After all we were pretty mean yesterday" Bou-san laughed.

"Don't go there, Just thinking of that makes a chill go down my spine. That insufferably confident bastard. The only narcissist I respect in the world is hiding under his blanket, crying?!"

Bou-san stopped laughing when considered it.

"...That's true..."

"Shibuya-san must be..." John said, as his creativity sparked up as well. "He must be so furious that he's making voodoo dolls."

'ha! I can really see that coming!' she inwardly thought while her laugher made it through everyone.

...

Getting to school was harder than what she thought, she hadn't had that much sleep. She opened her classroom door and her friends came rushing to her. Well kuroda was the first one to reach her and then were her friends. Michiru, Keiko and Yuuri.

She finally convinced them she was fine and that it was not a big deal. But it appears that Kuroda had told everyone about it.

"Anyway, we were shocked when all of a sudden we received a telephone call from Shibuya-san"

"What? When?" Mai exclaimed

"Last night... He asked about you and Kuroda-san... Wait you didn't know about it?"

"No he's been missing since-" "Kuroda, Taniyama, come to the principal's office immediately" a teacher called out interrupting her sentence.

...

Both of them waited in front of the office, kuroda nodded and she instantly knocked on the door for permission to enter.

"Enter"

"Excuse us" Mai bowed slightly entering the office, they were 8 persons including the principal and Naru.

'he finally made an appearance' Mai thought bitterly but quickly took a seat on one of the chairs available, Kuroda followed her example. "Sorry we're late..."

"Now everyone who was involved in the accident is here" Naru moved from the middle of the group to the window and closed the curtains making the room dark.

He then went to turn on a lamp. It had a light flashing repeatedly like a flickering flashlight. "Please look at this light." The room flashed from light to dark. Naru spoke calmly, "Look at the light. Slowly breathe in and out... Relax your shoulders..."

Naru's voice was calm, quiet. "Listen carefully to your breathing..." He repeated it.

'Not good ...I'm tired... I didn't get enough sleep yesterday, what with the half-awake-half-asleep state I was in... This is bad, at this rate... I will not be able to hide it.. no.. '

Naru's soft voice rang through the air. She could hear the fluctuating rhythm of his voice.

"Tonight... Something will happen... The chair on the second floor of the old school building... Will move by itself... Tonight in the old school building..." He whispered.

'In the lab room... The lab room... Chair ... '

"Okay, it's finished." The room suddenly brightened. Everyone covered their eyes.

"...Huh?"

"Thank you for your cooperation." Naru bowed. There was an old chair beside him.

'...The chair...oh wait'

Mai quickly followed him after he left the office, "wait up, Naru!"

He quickly turned around and gazed at her with his confident dark blue eyes.

She smiled at that "Glad to see you're back in shape"

He raised an eyebrow, "I should say that, you are still in one piece. I heard you were injured"

"Just a bit, nothing serious. Although your brother scared the hell out of me. I thought I died for sec there"

"Gene came again? Wasn't he sleeping?"

"Well he mentioned that if he had something to tell you, he will tell you himself. You can ask him by yourself"

"Mmm fair enough" he began to walk away but suddenly stopped. "Shouldn't you be on class?"

"Ah, I need to go somewhere first"

"So you want to be an idiot"

"No jerk, I need to stop by the nurse office"

He completely turned to her and noticed that she was really pale.

"Did you healed yourself the same way you did to Lin?"

"Eh? No, i... Ugh, is complicated, although I can help others..." She trailed off...

"You're unable to use them on yourself?" He crossed his arms.

"No, I can but I must not... The consequence is greater than the benefit"

"Such as?"

She sighed "it's more like when you hit your leg pretty bad and to forget about it you take out one of your teeth, in my case I get a headache. Well it's not that bad when I help others but in myself is..."

"Then are you hurt?"

"It's just a bump on my head, no biggie"

"Poor you. Well, just don't get any dumber and it'll be alright."

'..Why you— oh that's right.' "Ne, can I ask what was all that about?"

"No" he smirked and walked away.

"Jerk!" She exclaimed but smiled in satisfaction 'that's just so Naru, I bet his smile won't reach his eyes like Eugene-san's... I wish I could see it... huh? Why would I? Hold on for a moment! Can it be?'

She began to panic, but abruptly stop, 'I must had hit myself pretty badly, I don't really have him as my crush... Do I?' she exhaled suddenly exhausted, she won't think about it. He will soon go away... It would never be.

...

Mai made her way to the silver van behind the abandoned building. She saw Naru sitting on the back, her heart skipped a bit 'oy, oy, be serious, this guy is nothing but trouble. '

He suddenly turned his head to her and she knew she had missed her chance to talk. His deep blue eyes were focusing on her.

'not good... I'm blushing' she instantly made a fighting pose and glared at him. "Lower your weapons or I will fight. You won't take me down that easily"

He raised an eyebrow but then he remembered what she said, she had called him handsome and that his looks were part of his weapons, instantly he made his usual annoyed expression.

She sighed in relief "much better" the blush was instantly forgotten.

He rolled his eyes. Muttering something under his breath that sounded close to: "what an idiot" before she could react to it he asked. "Last night, was it you who helped set these tape recorders up?"

"Yeah... I wanted to set up the camcorders instead, but I didn't know how."

"You did a good job. It sounds like we were able to record some useful sounds"

"So the poltergeist incident from yesterday was recorded?"

"That's right, all of it"

"Great! Ah btw the shoe cabinet was warm"

"The one that fell on you?"

"Yup, objects that poltergeists touch should be warm to the touch... That's what you said before, right?"

"I'm surprised you remember so clearly"

"Of course I would, although your personality is awful, I must say that you have the skills to teach. Have you ever thought of becoming a professor?"

"That's none of your business" he handed her the electrical wires.

She pouted "I'm serious, bet you will be able to teach a monkey if you wished to"

"Like yourself?"

'why you...' an angry vein popped behind her but she smirked.

"You know what? forget I said anything, your female students will be a pain in the butt, they will either try to get your attention or try to kill you"

He flinched but she didn't catch it. Luckily John passed by, helping them to carry and to set up the equipment.

Once inside, Naru placed a chair in the middle of the room and started drawing a circle around it.

"What's that?"

He ignored her and began to set up the equipment.

"Mmm is the assistant role over? Should I head home-"

"It's a radar"

A radar... Like the ones that airplanes use?"

"Correct."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"I can't say. If I tell you, the results will be meaningless."

"Mmm... Is it fine if I guess? Or will it affect your results?"

He crossed his arms "depends, if only I know it won't"

She motioned him to get closer so she could whisper in his ear. "You said the chair will move earlier so... the radar's for that?"

He narrowed his eyes, 'why-'

"Is this alright?" John interrupted his thoughts.

"I will let everyone know tomorrow. Yes that's good"

Mai leaned her head to the right, 'was I wrong?' she had no time to think about it, as he ordered to hammer some boards and to sign them with their names. Even the equipment had tags with their names on.

'seriously I can't tell what he is thinking' she stumped out when he dismissed them to go home.

...

Mai made it really early to the old school building. She couldn't help but be nervous, something felt wierd about it.

She went to the back, Naru had come already as well. He was sitting in his van, handling something. Someone stood beside him.

'huh the injured assistant with the wierd blobs'

She bowed in greeting, the blobs were instantly surrounding her. "Good morning, I'm sorry it was my fault that I hurt you. Can you please call them off?" She raised her hands in a surrender manner.

Lin gazed at her coldly but the blobs retreated.

She turned to the right he was wearing clutches. "I can heal you if that's ok with you?"

His glare intensified. 'maybe not'

Naru sighed, "you're here rather early today"

"Of course!" She crossed her arms in an attempt to stop herself from shaking.

"Then wait till everyone shows up"

"I can keep a secret you know? If you tell me not to tell anyone I won't"

"I don't want to repeat myself"

Not that long Kuroda appeared and began to question Naru, just as before he refused to explain and an argument began.

Mai sighed the building was off, she couldn't help but stare at it.

Both girls ended up skipping classes.

Miko-san, Bou-san, John, and Masako came. When the whole team was here, Naru walked towards the old school building.

Quickly Mai slapped the Monk's and Miko's back "isn't there something you guys need to say?"

"That's right. Yo, Naru-bou. We were wrong, we did something unforgivable as professionals"

"It is shameful to admit but whatever is going on, got the worst out of us" the Miko continued when the Monk couldn't.

Naru raised an eyebrow, he was helping Lin inside with his left hand while the other hand he had a camcorder.

Mai clapped once "now that that's over, finish this up Naru"

A confident smirk played on his lips, Lin's eyes widened.

"Let everyone here be witness to the experiment then" he guided them towards the lab room where they had set the radar and the boards.

"Look at the equipment. Is the paper with your signature intact?"

Mai examined the paper and boards with the signatures. It wasn't damaged in any way. Everything was intact.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Yes, it's the same as yesterday," John answered.

"What about the signatures on the door? Is it your handwriting?"

"Yes." "That's right."

Naru nodded, then proceeded to tear down the planks he had hammered onto the door yesterday.

Naru walked in followed by John.

"Shibuya-san, the chair moved," John informed.

"Yes it did," Naru said, smiling satisfactorily, instead of explaining to the rest that had inquires he went to the camcorder.

"Watch" he pressed play.

The chair shook and shook, then it started to slide across the floor. There was no external force. It just moved by itself to the side of the window. It shook violently, then fell. It didn't move again. Naru pressed the stop button.

"Eh? Isn't this a poltergeist?" Bou-san asked.

"It is both, land subsidence and a poltergeist."

"Then we still need to exorcise"

Naru remained calm, "There is no need to exorcise. I believe that would be unnecessary."

"Why? That was a very strong poltergeist!" The monk grabbed his hair in despair.

Naru proceeded to explain, "Yesterday I gave everyone an autosuggestion."

"Huh?" Mai reacted. 'didn't you guess that?' he sighed.

"It's similar to hypnotism. The autosuggestion was that this chair would move at night."

'so I was right? Cool' her joy didn't last long as Naru used his eyes to draw her attention, they turned dark.

"Poltergeist incidents are usually caused by human beings, namely those that are thirteen to fifteen years old. But sometimes they're caused by teenage girls under a lot of stress who want to be noticed by others."

"Are you saying that I could be a problem?" Mai asked. She was offended and somehow it hurt hearing that from him.

"Idiot."

'that hurt even more'

He raised an eyebrow but continued "It is highly probable. However, the culprit is usually unaware of doing this."

"What?"

"In these situations, an autosuggestion will make the event actually occur."

"It is because of a human and no spirits, that's what you mean?" The Miko asked.

"To put it simply, yes. I have not been mistaken yet."

"...Then the culprit is?"

"Is..."

Everyone turned to Kuroda, she did her best to refute but once she heard Naru explain she may have PK, she felt silent.

"In summary our investigation could've made Kuroda-san's ghost sightings invalid, which stressed her. As a result, she was unconsciously under a lot of stress. In her mind she believed that there must be ghosts here, and that poltergeist activities must occur here. And then..."

Bou-san continued, "...she unconsciously made poltergeist activity."

"What about me? I was locked... No way you did that?"

Naru showed the nail out of his pocket "It was probably a joke. Were you not mean to her earlier?"

"Then, what about the videocam's malfunction?"

"I examined it carefully. Apparently it's caused by a human, not a ghost."

Kuroda shrank back, then apologized for what she did.

Naru continued, "It's because Miko-san insulted her by saying she didn't have psychic powers. That's why she was so angry she couldn't stand it anymore. As a lesson, do not talk carelessly in the future."

Mai snorted and Naru glared at her 'don't you dare'

Mai raised her hands in surrender.

We understand. But now what? We can't just leave like this. The principal called on us to exorcise the ghost." The miko insisted.

"We can just say that we exorcised the ghost. I plan to tell the principal this: There were many spirits of soldiers in the old school building. We exorcised them so now it's safe to continue the demolition project—is this okay with you, Kuroda-san?"

Kuroda looked like she was about to shed tears of happiness.

"...Dead soliders... Huh," Miko-san mumbled unhappily.

Bou-san said, "So now there's no problem, right?"

"We can always say the truth to the principal only" Masako said, hiding beneath her kimono sleeve.

"She's already under a lot of pressure. There's no need to add to that, right?" Naru responded.

"Then who gets the credit of exorcising the ghost?" It was the Miko who asked

At that moment everyone became silent. Naru calmly responded, "Everyone helped in the exorcism. Will this be alright with everybody?"

"...Huh?" They all agreed with no problem.

"Mai, don't tell anyone about this."

"Aye sir!"

The Miko seemed touched and began to flirt but Naru refused her invitation with the best narcissist line he could come up with. He didn't have space for her in his mirror.

It was hilarious.

After a bit Naru began to lift off the equipment, Mai quickly assisted in taking some out.

"Don't you two have to go to school today?"

"I'm not going today," Mai replied, Kuroda left.

Naru immediately shot me a disdainful look. "Why don't you put more effort into becoming smarter?"

"University is expensive, why would anyone wish to be smart enough to skip grades?"

"If you continue to think like that, you won't get anywhere" he sighed but Mai pay him no mind. She was staring at the building.

"We better hurry up, something is off "

"Your instincts? Or was that your way to change the topic?"

"Mm? What topic?" She smiled innocently.

He pinched his nose turning away from her. She made V of victory behind his back and quickly hid it when he turned to glare at her.

"Help me with the equipment if you're skipping class"

...

"There the last one, want me to see you off?"

"There's no need to. You better hurry and get to class. If you get any dumber, not even the best medicine can help you."

"Jerk, I am guessing you don't know then, or you want me to verify your findings?"

"... about a what?"

'yup thought so' she smiled to him and waved her hand in dismissal "nevermind, I guess this is it, take care!"

She ran towards the school building. Naru sighed, things were far from over...he clenched his fist then let it go, 'this was only the beginning Taniyama Mai'

...

School ended but instead of going to the gate she went to the roof, a sad smile lifting her lips . She neared the edge and turned to look at the old school building. She clapped her hands once and suddenly the old building began to fall down.

'ah... So that was the sudden chill earlier when I clapped' she continued to stare at it in wonder.

...

A few days later, the demolition project restarted to tear down the part of the building left standing. At the same time, rumors of Kuroda's psychic abilities spread throughout the school...

...

"How many times do I have to tell you guys? I won't ask for his number to the principal"

Her friends kept asking regardless of her refusals. They complained of their failed attempts and the like when they searched for his number.

Suddenly the intercom came on. "Taniyama Mai of class 1-F, please report to the principal's office." Quietly she made it to the office.

"Ah, Taniyama-san? You have a phone call." The secretary motioned toward the phone on the counter. She bowed in thanks and picked up the phone.

"Hello, I'm Taniyama." Who is it? "

"Mai?"

"Oh Naru! Thought you gave up already, or forgot about it to be exact. So what am I supposed to be?"

"I didn't forget about it and no, not yet. I didn't call because of that"

"Oh then is something up? Why did you call the school?"

"Wouldn't you think it's because I don't know your home number?"

"Wouldn't you look on the phone book, I am pretty sure I am there"

"... Too troublesome"

'yeah right! You took to long to answer it, you didn't think about that' she giggled "so if you were that lazy, and didn't want to verify, why did you call?"

"Compensation."

"...Huh?"

"I'm talking about your payment as my assistant. It's okay if you don't want it."

"Is that really alright? I kinda injured your real assistant and even if you have evidence to cover the insurance for the camera with the land subsidence excuse, it was kind of my fault"

"...you don't want it?"

"Don't get me wrong, i never thought I'd get paid. But if you'll give it to me, I'll gladly take it."

"Then, I'll transfer it to your bank account. Do you know your account number?"

"I believe you are probably the only person I know that may remember their account number, I am at school so I don't have it"

"Shall I mail it?"

"Sure, just do whatever."

"In that case, tell me your address."

"—Ok, well, it'll be there in a week."

"Okay. Thank you, have an awesome weekend"

"Wait-" Naru said a bit to late, she hanged up.

She began to walk away, 'might had cut him off.. serves him right"

"Um Taniyama-san, he is back" the secretary said, stopping her completely.

"Naru?" She took the phone again.

"You did it on purpose"

"I wonder what you may be talking about, did I missed something?"

"Does your school prohibit its students from working?"

"Nope."

"...Oh, in that case."

"Mmm?"

"Do you want to work here?"

"In Naru's office? She gasped

"—I don't have enough office workers. A while earlier, someone quit."

"Oh, I don't mind. I'll do it" she made a happy dance as she wrote down the address.

"Can you find a time to come?"

"How about the day after tomorrow, Saturday."

"I will be here then"

"Then, I'll see you on Saturday." She squeezed her shirt right above her heart, she was so happy it took her great effort to not scream.

"That's right, thank you for helping earlier. You were a big help. Thank you very much."

She blushed, 'fool play' "y-you ar-are welcome! She accidentally bit her tongue but she managed it. No wait he had already hanged up.

'jerk' she giggled 'was that payback?'

* * *

Phew! So long, I freaking died. Now I'm finally moving to one of my favorite cases! Don't mind if I mess things a bit!


	6. Chapter 6

Hi there! Hope you are ready for this, I have added and mess up the flow of the original story, let me know your thoughts ;)

Disclaimer I don't own Ghost Hunt nor the manga. I simply love to make fanfictions.

Thanks for the follows, faves and reviews!

ShotaroxPhillip: thank you ✧٩(の❛ᴗ❛ の)۶

CaitHawke4Ever: here it is! Thank you so much for the support! Yup having that setting opens lots of possibilities! Muahahaha( の •̀ ∀-)و

* * *

...

If you ever need help with a Ghost or have an issue due to paranormal activities, don't loose your time and money on useless people. If you're tired and don't know how to go on with the supernatural events in your home, then Google 'Shibuya Psychic Research' make an appointment through the phone or simply come by to the second floor of the brick building, the first floor is a plaza, so watch out, you may get distracted.

For now a young girl works as a part timer, her name is Taniyama Mai. She is a 15 year old high school freshman. If she is not there due to school or other events a tall skinny man with hair that will cover one of his eye, will greet you. His name is Lin. On the rare event that none of them are in the office, a handsome bastard with an incredible egocentric personality will be sitting on the couch so if you're not ready for business or the like you will probably regret ever coming inside...

"Ouch!"

"That advertising is the worse I have ever read so far. Are you really that useless?"

"Eh? Naru, I didn't write this!"

"Stop making excuses"

"It's true! It was him, 'he' used my body"

"Why would 'he' do that?"

"For crying out loud! Haven't I told you? 'he' has been pulling pranks to Lin-san! I bet he can't hate me anymore than he does now" Mai slumped in her chair, she really tried to tell Lin that Naru's twin was the prankster, she didn't care if he wouldn't believe her but every time she tried, Gene will possess her and make an even worse prank.

Naru's lips twitched slightly, he could easily tell Lin about Gene but where was the fun in that? In reality it was mostly because a part of him found Mai's expressions interesting/enjoyable.

"Is Shibuya Psy-something over here?" A woman dressed in extravagant clothes entered.

"It is, is there something we can assist?" Mai entered business mode, greeting her with a warm smile that she ignored.

"That child over there" she was referring to Naru.

'oh, you're messing with the wrong guy madam' Mai coughed and tried again. "Is there anything we can assist you with?"

She however persistently spoke to Naru and ignored her completely. "Child, do you work at this office?"

Naru didn't bother lifting up his head. Of course he didn't pay any attention to her. She called him a 'child'.

"If you have a request, please direct it to me," Mai had tried for the last time using a polite voice.

This time the woman faced her and let out a disdainful "hmph" she kept trying to make Naru talk

' ok that's it!'

"Please excuse me boss, I will call in security as this..." She montioned to the woman "is refusing to state her business and lacks manners." Mai bowed to Naru. His lips twitched again but was unnoticeable.

"Yes, you may"

"How rude! I'm a guest!"

"A guest...?" Naru said coldly, not looking up from his book.

"Correct. You should answer my question. Otherwise, I will be given a bad impression"

Mai snorted but kept her business smile.

Naru replied indifferently, "Please leave."

"—What the hell, I already said I'm a guest."

"I have yet to know of the etiquette I must show to a guest I've never met before.

"You have no manners... Call the person in charge! I want to file a complaint!"

Naru finally stood up, then faced the woman with eyes cold as ice. This kind of expression can stop anyone from talking. Pitch black hair, black pupils, and completely black clothes... He looked like a frightening, beautiful demon or vampire. 'Demon Lord maybe' Mai nodded.

Naru calmly stated, "It appears that you didn't hear my assistant. I am the manager, Shibuya."

The woman became speechless.

The manager looked at her disdainfully, his pale lips curved into a mocking smile, "Please leave." Simultaneously, he directed his voice to the nearby reference room and said,

"Lin!" It took a moment but Lin appeared holding out a pair of headphones.

Send the guest out." The rude woman was thrown out by the tall, unfriendly assistant.

"Naru, is that okay?"

"What is?"

"She seemed very rich"

"It's okay"

"Mmm if you say so, want tea?"

"Yes"

"Kay"

And so the day passed, countless of people came by but the only one that deserved attention was , "My daughter has been behaving strangely. She must be possessed, so please come and exorcise the ghost."

To countless people Mai explained that the office was for research, that they used scientific methods to solve paranormal phenomena. They didn't provide medicine, they were not a detective agency, they were not Devine, of course not, they were not a new religion. 'Where the h*ll did they come with that?'

She set the cup of black tea in front of Naru.

'yup, no thanks, come to think of it, I don't do much, just tea, cleaning, making copies and of course taking requests. Maybe he is still trying to figure out what I am, that's why he keeps me close. Well he is pretty strange, his hobbies are traveling and magic, yup I have seen him fiddle with cards but had yet to perform a magic trick in front of me. Although he makes small trips to different places he doesn't go to tourism sites. He is really wierd, is he looking for something?'

"Mai, can you let Gene possess you? I need to discuss something"

"Kay, but don't you dare let him do another prank to Lin-san. I already kick his butt, if you let him I will kick yours"

"I am your boss"

"This is my body we are talking about, this is not on the contract I signed. If you can't do that much I won't call him"

"Fine"

...

"Hey little bro"

'that was way to fast' "Gene"

"Why are you so surprised? Told you this girl was a white crow"

"Nevermind that, where was the last place you visited?"

"Mmm, my memory is kind of fuzzy, although I do remember how I died it seems I am unconsciously blocking the event"

"Since you are dead it can't be that, is it, because of how long it has been? Are you forgetting events?"

"Most likely" Gene shrugged.

"Mmm so data is lost.." Naru began mumbling but paused "btw, why are you playing pranks on Lin?"

"Eh? isn't that obvious? Because it's fun!"

Naru sighed pinching his nose slightly "it will be better if you stop it before he reaches his limit"

"Roger, but don't tell him it's me yet. I will do it"

"Do whatever you want"

"Is that so?" Gene grabbed Mai t-shirt and looked below, he whistled.

Naru's eyes widened, he threw him a cushion. "don't harass my employees"

"Augh, Naru? Why did you hit me?"

Naru slapped his face, his brother was unbelievable, he should really watch out for her sake.

...

Rather than pushing him up for an answer, her gut told her she better not know. Mai began to arrange the books. She had a list she had to organize so she tried to remember the classification.

"Naru, what category is 'The Parapsychology Battlefield'?"

Naru picked up the book and flipped through it. "Parapsychology, Thesis."

"Got it~"

Just then the door opened, and a young lady entered. She looked to be about twenty years old. Although she wore subtle clothes that adults usually wear, she gave Mai the feeling that she faced many difficulties lately.

"Please excuse me... Is this SPR?"

'Oh, a guest' Mai turn on the business mode and directed her to the sofa. Naru also stood up and greeted her. Today his temper was worse than usual. And no wonder. They had so many annoying customers today. And not one of them had a reasonable request.

"...Is something troubling you?" Naru still used his angry tone.

Noriko Morishita... Lowered her head, not looking up at Naru. "...Well, strange things have been happening at my house," she admitted.

"What kind?"

Noriko quietly responded, "There are strange sounds... Sounds of someone knocking on the wall and climbing onto the bed will come from empty rooms. The door opens and closes by itself..."

A glimmer of light flashed in Naru's eyes. "The door opens and closes with no apparent reason?" he restated.

Noriko nodded uneasily. "Objects in the room won't be in their usual place. The room often shakes. At first I thought it was an earthquake, but it wasn't..."

...A real customer has arrived. Naru's eyes gleamed. That means he's interested. "Can you be more specific on objects not being in their usual place?" he inquired.

"Um... The flower vase moved, things I put in the drawer aren't there anymore, and they all end up in places they shouldn't be in."

"And the earthquake?"

"It kind of feels like an earthquake. The furniture emits a rumbling sound. And then there's this swaying feeling..."

Mai gave her a cup of tea and Noriko kindly accepted it. Mai smiled to her and she calmed down greatly.

Naru signaled to Lin with his eyes, who then pulled out a cassette recorder to tape Noriko's account. Afterward, Naru asked her more questions. "First of all, can you tell us about the other inhabitants?"

After Noriko-san left, Naru immediately started discussing the matter with Lin-san. It seemed like they'll accept Noriko's request.

Mai was happy, she had been working for 3 months and it was the first time she saw that they were ready to take a case. She was glad that she didn't have school either because of the summer holidays.

3 days later they went to the house.

It was a two-hour drive from Tokyo. The house was built in an old architectural style. Noriko-san lived in a tall house near the woods.

'It was dark'

What's wrong?" Naru turned around and asked.

"It's just..." Mai didn't continue, Noriko-san was there.

"Are you surprised that it's so old? They say that this house was built before the war. It always feels a bit lonely to me."

"...Oh." The wind blew, rustling the leaves in trees.

"—Come in, come in," she ushered them.

"Mai?" Naru asked again right before entering.

"This... feel haunted"

Naru remained silent

The white walls and brown furniture gave it a quaint look. "What a cool house..." Mai couldn't help herself and commented out loud.

She smiled "thank you but it would be better if those strange things didn't happen..."

Mai nodded.

She continued "My older brother's not here, so the place always makes me uneasy."

Noriko's older brother is the owner of the house, currently he's overseas on a business trip. When he was away, many strange incidents had occurred. Right now there are three females in the house, including Noriko's sister-in-law and niece.

" Well my sister is waiting for everyone so please come along."

When they entered, a small surprised awaited. Ayako and Bou-san were there. They all reacted slightly.

"Do you know them?" a bulky women asked curiously.

"This is Kana, my sister-in-law," Noriko introduced. Kana-san bowed.

Naru answered her earlier question, poker face on "We've done business together before."

"So that's how it is... In that case, an introduction would be unnecessary."

"That's right."

Not long afterwards, a little girl followed Noriko, who was carrying tea, into the room.

'wow a mini angel' Mai thought.

Wearing a white dress, she was cradling an outdated doll with her tiny fingers. She looked like she came from a painting. "

This is my niece, Ayami," Noriko introduced.

Small summary, even though Noriko's older brother Morishita-san is still young, he owns a company. Ayami-chan is his daughter. Ayami-chan's mother isn't Kana-san. Her mother had divorced with her father a long time ago. It's been nearly a year since their marriage took place.

Naru nodded, "I have some questions for you later. Kana-san, would it be alright if you prepare a room for us? A base for us to investigate from."

"No problem. Please come this way," Noriko raised her hand and guided them to another room..

They were led to an empty room on the first floor near the stairs. Naru examined the room and nodded. Then he turned toward Bou-san and Ayako, "…Can you tell me why you two are here?"

The priestess Ayako looked smug, "Long time no see. Can't you act a little bit happier?"

"I'm terribly sorry." Naru's expression didn't change

"So handsome, yet so fickle," Bou-san sighed.

It turns out both were requested by different people, Ayako was called by the nanny while the Monk was requested by the Morishita's secretary. As always they began to fight not long after explaining.

"Man—we'll just leave it at that. Please continue to help us," Bou-san said, smiling surreptitiously.

Naru ignored the other two and looked towards Mai and Lin-san "Let's start working."

After a while of moving up the equipment and setting up the shelves, it looked like a research room. Noriko-san was impressed.

"Is that the room where the paranormal phenomena occurred?" Naru asked.

Noriko shook her head, "There isn't a specific place where it occurs..."

Naru contemplated, then said, "Then we can place two videocams on both the first and second floor. And we can set one up in the hallway. Let's observe the situation first."

Mai saluted, and quickly did as was ordered. She was sweating when everything was in place.

"Still the same, I see," Bou-san sighed, glancing up at the mountain-pile of TVs and video cameras.

Lin ssatin front of the equipment. The TV screens brightened, showing different areas of Morishita's house.

"What do you think of this place?" Bou-san asked Naru.

"I can't be sure as of now," Naru replied

Ayako soon claimed it was an earth bound spirit and no later Bou-san turned it down.

"What about you, "ojou-chan"? You're Mai, right? Naru's assistant."

"As of now I'm doing various jobs. According to what Noriko-san said, this seems to be the work of a poltergeist. Well... there're knocking sounds, doors opening and closing, objects relocating themselves, and eerie sounds. That's five conditions. As long as more than half the criteria is met, it can be considered a poltergeist. I think the possibility of this happening is pretty high"

Bou-san laughed aloud, clapping, "Heh, pretty amazing. If it's a poltergeist, then who's the culprit? You think is Noriko-san?"

"... No.. I believe this place is haunted but it wouldn't hurt to check since poltergeist activities are usually caused by the house's inhabitants, and most of which are women. So if she's been having difficulties with her older brother's sister-in-law, it can happen"

She turned to look at Naru who was giving her a piercing look.

"At first I wanted to praise you for remembering everything you learned so far, but," Naru continued coldly, "you forgot an important factor, poltergeist culprits are usually between thirteen and fifteen years old, meaning they are undergoing puberty. Noriko-san is already twenty. Saying she's undergoing puberty right now is a rather outrageous idea."

Mai faced palmed "agh!"

"Although it's possible for a spiritually sensitive woman to be responsible.. No matter what, let's just observe the situation for now. We'll make a conclusion later"

"You are right professor, I went ahead of myself"

Everyone turned to her, Lin's eyes went wide and Naru narrowed his eyes dangerously at her. But she didn't notice since she had the Monk to answer.

"Professor?"

"Yeah, don't you think he would pull it off? Besides he knows a lot and he is teaching me how to go on this. Rather than calling him sensei, professor sounds way better"

Mai shrugged, Lin faced palmed while Naru pinched his nose

"Mmm you're right, can't go against that logic" Bou-san shrugged

"Bet you didn't want to call him sensei because it will take you back to school" Ayako smirked.

"Oh my, wonder what you're talking about?" Mai played innocent

"Don't give me that, you can't help but have a cru-"

"Oh look at the time! It's getting late, don't you have something to do? Like driving away the bound spirit?" Mai pushed both the Monk and Ayako who were giving her teasing smirks out of the base.

"Don't think you can get away, I will be back!" Ayako teased. Monk laughed out loud.

She sighed in relief... "Huh?"

"What?" Naru asked, although he was looking at the screens he had been paying attention to them.

" I... No, 'he' did something to me" she placed a hand to her face.

"In what way?" Naru knew she was referring to Gene but Lin thought she meant the Monk, so he paid no mind.

"I don't know, maybe I'm imagining things"

"..." He didn't pressure, not with Lin here.

...

Since people had already stayed here Naru decided it was safe enough to stay for the night. Each were given a room.

Mai's room faced the west. After a small talk Noriko-san insisted on dropping the politeness and Mai quickly accepted.

When Mai opened the window There was a pond south of the house. It was a lush, green pond.

"The scenery is amazing,"

"...I've often thought that way too... But lately it seems scary..." she admitted.

"Scary?" Mai asked.

"Think about it. Aren't there stories like this? The young child that drowned cries out for his friend..."

"Ah, I see what you mean, but don't worry we will find out for you"

"...Thank you. My brother is usually not at home so it gets scary." She chuckled.

"Everything will soon be alright. Our director is here, and so is the priestess and monk. Those two often argue so much that it's easy to laugh at them."

"Really?" Noriko-san seemed a bit happier now.

"If it's okay with you, would you join me for tea? It's time for afternoon tea. Is it okay if Ayami comes too?"

"That would be awesome" Mai smiled greatly.

...

Carrying the tea set, both went into Ayami's room.

"Ayami." Noriko-san opened the door. Ayami was lying on the floor, reading a picture book. She turned her sight to them as soon as they entered.

"Hello" Mai smiled and waved her hand.

Ayami let out a happy smile, then pushed her picture book to the side. She grabbed her doll and walked closer. She was holding the old-styled, foreign doll from earlier. 'The expressions on foreign dolls were always creepy, but this doll was kind of cute compared to others.' Mai thought.

Ayami lifted the doll's left arm, "Hello."

Mai bent down and shook the foreign doll's hand. "Hi, what's your name?"

"Minnie," Ayami said, moving the doll's little hand.

"Minnie, nice to meet you. I'm Mai."

"Nice to meet you, Mai." Ayami laughed, then made the foreign doll bow.

'So cute— '

"Ayami, it's snack time." Hearing Noriko-san, Ayami quickly nodded, then just as quickly shook her head.

'ah... Just now was a voice telling her not to?'

...

Not long after Naru made the autosuggestion, it seems to have worked as all the inhabitants stared at the vase in Naru's hand.

He got the key for the room and let everyone go out, he placed the vase on the table where a hand drawn circle was made.

Satisfied with the position of the camera and radar he locked down the door.

Once in base Naru couldn't help but sarcastically comment: "leisure time, I see"

Bou-san replied, "I'll decide what to do after we see the results of that experiment. When I'm sure the poltergeist activities aren't caused by a human, I'll take action

"How honorable of you," came a mocking voice.

...

"Hey Naru... Something-" Mai began but she was interrupted. At exactly 9pm Kana opened the door to the base.

"Please take a look!" she exclaimed.

"What's wrong?"

Kana-san's face was pale and frantic. She recklessly grabbed a calm Naru, "Please, come quickly!"

* * *

Oh well, guess combining prologue and chapter 1 was a bad idea. I was unable to complete chapter 1. But there you go, see you soon.


	7. Chapter 7

Alright! Let's get this going!

Mortisvenom: hahahaha oh... well he turns out to be quite pervy every chance he has he will do like the guy in "Kimi no na was" xD

CaitHawke4Ever:: thank you, on the first chapter is A bit hard to change stuff since it builds up the story but I always change things, bits, the second chapter are my faves to modify :D I add a lot c:

Disclaimer I don't own Ghost Hunt!

* * *

Everyone except Lin went. The four of them followed Kana-san out of the base.

They arrived to Ayami's room on the second floor.

"Look!" Kana-san quickly opened the room

While observing the room everyone's eyes widened. That table that used to be right beside the wall was leaned over. Not only that, the bed, bookshelf and wardrobe were all at a crooked angle, pushed to the edge of the room.

Dazed and sleepy, Ayami stood in the corner in her pajamas.

"...What happened..." Bou-san whispered.

Kana-san replied firmly, "...When I came to get Ayami in bed, the room was just like this. And you still ask 'what happened'? Didn't I call on you guys because of things like this?"

Hearing Kana-san's uneasy retort, Mai turned to look at the little girl, "Ayami-chan?"

Ayami blinked her eyes several times, then raised her head,

"By any chance do you know why is the furniture on the sides?"

She was scared stiff.

'she couldn't have been able to do this... Everything was too heavy, even I wouldn't have a chance' Mai thought but just as soon a chill ran down her back... 'was that... Laughter? Are kids... Laughing?'

Mai turned around, she took a look at the window... Nothing.

Leaning on the side of the door, Ayako softly offered an explanation, "Didn't that kid do it?"

"Not possible, With all that furniture on the carpet, even I wouldn't be able to move it. Or are you saying that you can do it?" Bou-san retorted and threw a ridiculing look at Ayako.

Naru calmly asked Kana-san, "...First of all, can we examine this room?"

"Yes, do what you want, We'll leave then." Kana-san pulled Ayami-chan's hand and nodded.

Ayami-chan lifted her head and looked at Mai, "I didn't do it." She was on the verge of tears.

"I know it's not your fault,"

Even Bou-san patted her head to console her. Once they were gone, both Naru and the Monk tried to push the bed together. It didn't move.

Ayako accepted her mistake.

Naru looked around the bed, then said softly, "There aren't any marks on the bed. A human didn't do this."

As in cue a despairing cry came from downstairs. Everyone quickly rushed down the stairs and entered the living room.

Shock halted their movements.

Kana-san was standing, her face chalk white. Ayami-chan was on the side, her eyes in a daze. Noriko-san rushed here, noticed the scene, and was shocked as well.

"...!"

The furniture was all flipped upside down. The table, chairs, and even the bookshelf leaning against the wall were all flipped upside-down. The painting on the wall was also flipped upside-down.

No one said a word.

Even the carpet was flipped over. They put cameras in Ayami's room, the living room and just in case in their own rooms. Noriko will have Ayami sleep with her to avoid any issue.

After a small argument Ayako said that she would get rid of the Earth spirit tomorrow, that she was too tired and that they shouldn't worry any longer.

Bou-san shook his head in denial. After Ayako left, he asked:

"Mai, I don't see why you think she is the real deal. She only knows how to talk" the Monk sighed.

"I call it intuition, but to be honest I feel like something is limiting her... Like a condition has to be met, or the like..." Mai shrugged "haven't you noticed? The paper she carries have a-... nevermind. Let's leave it like that" she closed her mouth before she said too much and luckily Bou-san wasn't paying attention after she shrugged. He was watching Naru.

'What's up? You seem to be concentrating hard on something." He continued even when he was ignored "Did you find any clues?"

Finally, Naru answered, "Don't you think they reacted too early?"

"Huh?"

Light flickered in Naru's dark eyes. Such a deep color. He proceeded to explain, for Mai's sake "Spirits normally hate outsiders. When outsiders come into their house, they usually hide for a certain amount of time."

"Ah true." Mai commented earning a raised eyebrow from Naru.

Then Bou-san turned serious as he crossed his arms."...Usually the reactions weaken. A loud sound would instead become a soft sound created by friction. But if the reactions become stronger instead..." Bou-san stopped for a moment. And then added :"Repulsion."

Naru looked at Bou-san. "So you think that way too?"

"Yes. This house seemed unhappy the moment we came here. Plus, it showed us a number of incidents in our short time here... this poltergeist isn't an ordinary one."

Naru nodded, his voice barely a whisper, "...This could be a troublesome one."

When nothing else happened in the night they went to sleep at daybreak.

...

...

Naru checked the flower vase on the table, it was still in the same place. It didn't move out of the circle on the table. Even on the video it didn't move. After Mai inquired, Naru confirmed that the people living here didn't cause the poltergeist.

When Mai first woke up she was feeling a little bit dizzy but curiosity won over and she came straight to the base.

Once she got her answer she couldn't help but continue to ask.

"Then... Is it because of a ghost?"

"I can't be sure on that yet. That can't be determined right now. Mai, check the temperatures of each room."

She frowned but Naru then ordered Lin to check the foundation of the house.

"After I finish with the temperature, I will go play with the kids. They were so hyper when I met them in the hall" Mai giggled as she left the base.

"... Kids?" Lin asked out loud.

"What kids?" Naru asked, he hadn't pay Mai any attention.

"She said she will play..." He sighed "nevermind" he returned to work.

She heard Ayako's Shinto prayer and decided it will be better if she turned in the results before playing. She went to base and found Bou-san lazing around. Both Lin and Naru were out, one investigating the other checking up the house.

She told the Monk that he better step up or he will be left behind. Turning around she left the base.

"What? Jou-chan? Aren't you going to stay longer?" He followed her out.

"I'm busy, unlike a certain monk."

"You... Act more like Naru-chan everyday."

"Well, yeah. It's like they say. The manager and his parents are alike, just like the employer and employee are alike."

"What are you talking about?" Bou-san asked, but sighed "well, I'm going to keep watching. Good luck."

She shrugged, hearing a small giggle she turned around and let a smile settled on her face.

"Shall we go play?"

The children came closer to her, they took her hand and made her spin. She laughed "how about we play hide and seek?"

It appears that Ayako had finished her incantation. Her voice could no longer be heard.

By ten she returned to base. Was it her imagination or the game was really hard? She had found everyone but they vanished right after running towards a corner.

It was then that Naru returned, she gave the report to him.

"The temperature in Ayami's room is somewhat low," he responded then he took a look at Lin's report that had a layout of the house. "This house isn't slanted, and the foundations are solid. Although water flows under this house, it does so smoothly. In addition, the water level hasn't decreased."

"It is a ghost then?"

"It is highly possible"

"Mmm that's wierd... If it is, why can't I see them? Perhaps the wavelength thing you talked about is doing is thing? Or perhaps 'he' really did something? Mmm any way maybe if I ask the kids I will get something"

"What kids? Ayami?" Naru raised an eyebrow.

"Eh? No-" she was interrupted. Shibata-san's shrill cry rang through the air.

They rushed to the kitchen, Noriko had joined them by the stairs.

It took a moment since the sight of the pipe on fire froze everyone in fear but they managed to turn it off.

Noriko-san and Shibata-san slumped onto the floor.

"Thank... You." Shibata-san continued to tremble. Bou-san tried to comfort her.

"Madam, are you alright?"

"Ah... This kind of thing... Happened."

"Well, let's end this for today. Do you want me to give you a lift home?"

Shibata-san reluctantly nodded. He took her away. Suddenly the air turned cold.

Mai instantly turned to look at the window. Maybe it was the adrenaline but she rushed to open it.

"It's not safe, is dangerous, come inside"

"Mai"

She turned to look at Naru, he had called her name.

"Huh? The kid disappeared"

"Ayami-chan? She should be sleeping by now, in my room" Noriko answered her feeling uneasy.

"No.. I couldn't see what kid was, I didn't see the face"

Naru turned his intense gaze downward onto the floor, thinking carefully. "Let's look at the situation first."

The lights were off in Noriko's room, however in the dimness they could see Ayami wasn't asleep... In the dark room, she was sitting up in the bed, playing with her doll.

She placed a small quilt on Minnie. "Minnie, I will cover you with a futon"

Ayami raised her head when Noriko turned on the lights, then sat by her side, "Ayami, were you in the kitchen just now?"

Blinded by the lights, Ayami-chan blinked her eyes before shaking her head in surprise. "No I wasn't." She shook her head furiously.

'hahahaha they won't believe you, you are in trouble' the laughter kept going and Mai had to grasp her head.

Noriko-san let out a soft sigh. A loud sound came from the ceiling. It was almost as if something was hitting the ceiling.

'They are all evil, they will punish you' Mai shut down her eyes, the rest of them looked up at the ceiling. The sound didn't stop.

"I didn't do it!" Ayami-chan cried out.

'bad child!' their voices were louder.

"I didn't do it! It wasn't me! She cried again, tears brimming in her eyes.

Mai felt her own tears forming, She didn't open her eyes but she knew Naru had grabbed her arm.

The thumping sounds continued, as if they were responding to Ayami. The chandelier swayed, making a creaking sound. The thumping sounds grew louder and louder. The bed and furniture rocked too.

A chill ran down on Mai's back and she opened her eyes. She turned to look around and Naru held her arm stronger.

"Noriko-san, it's dangerous here..." Naru warned.

The book shelf and the toys that were on it began to fall towards Noriko's body.

Mai managed to brush away Naru's dead hold away and made it on time to pull the frightened woman away by her T-shirt collar.

"Kyaaah!"

"Sister!"

thankfully none were hurt. The lights flickered but they managed to stay on and after a while they went to sleep on a different room. Noriko smiled kindly at Mai before leaving.

...

Naru had ordered to set thermal cameras in Ayami's room, the living room, the kitchen, and the hallways on the first and second floor. The blue and orange colors indicated the temperature. While the string of numbers on the screen changed continuously. That indicates the time.

After a small reproach on the Miko's failure, a debate on whether the autosuggestion worked or not, took place. However Lin soon stated his fact." Naru was an expert on autosuggestion"

Before Ayako could say anything Lin-san cut her off, "Naru, the temperature is decreasing."

Naru looked at the TV. "...What's the time?"

"Two fourty-two a.m." At this time, a red light shone on the edge of Ayami-chan's room.

"What's that?" Mai asked, pointing at the screen.

"The sound reception, —Lin, the speaker." As soon as Lin-san set up the microphone, eerie sounds came out.

"...?" Everyone held their breath

"such strong sounds" Ayako whispered

"The temperature suddenly dropped..." Naru murmered but continued "The response is strong. The temperature's still dropping... It's below freezing temperature..."

"Sh**" Bou-san said.

Naru looked uptight. The strange sounds continued. "Ayami-chan didn't do this. No human could've done this..."

"It is a ghost then?"

"Correct and a strong one"

Bou-san seemed excited as he stood confidently, "Well it's like I said, I'm not the same as Ayako. I'm actually capable."

"You were extremely accurate," Naru chuckled. Ayako turned unhappily toward Bou-san and a small fight started. Mai shook her head, 'they look like really good friends'

The eerie sounds persisted for a while before quieting down.

They finally got some rest. Before Naru turned in, Lin called for Naru.

"You better take a look at this, it's Taniyama-san"

Naru raised an eyebrow, they were both alone but Lin still choose to whisper.

... 'impossible'

"Kids?"

* * *

Okis I finally got the first chapter out. Ufff. I got a writer's block but eh. Even my first time stories are on hold. Sorry


	8. Chapter 8

Ugh, whenever I turn in to sleep my inspiration to write is the highest, I go further through the story in my mind, specially on the blood stained lab case. Then I get notified of the updated chapters from the novels I follow and wush! There goes my will to write... Sorry I will do my best to come back...

 **If anyone needs the link for the translated Ghost Hunt side stories like the Angels bicycle or the story where Naru starts classifying people as pumpkins let me know I will DM it, that one is called bits 2.**

Thank you greatly for the faves, alerts and reviews! Long chapter for you guys!

Special thanks to CaitHawke4Ever! Celline The Sleeping Beauty! And Jun-Shang88! I sent you the link Jun-Shang88, :D and Celline The Sleeping Beauty I hope the hints in this chapter helps, Mai is not a healer, close but not quite.

Disclaimer I don't own Ghost Hunt this rewrite is basically for fan made purposes.

* * *

"Kids?" Naru asked

"That's what I believe they're." Lin nodded.

"They don't show any physical traits... They're like shadows... Did we put a thermal camera there?"

"The thermal camera was off, it was on the entire night so this event occurred on the cooling period"

Naru cursed slightly under his breath. He brought his hand to support his chin. Mai was playing hide and seek on the monitors but she didn't seem to know that they were ghosts... 'perhaps he really did something ' he smirked.

"Once I wake up I will go investigate, try to keep me informed"

".." Lin nodded again. When Naru had left, he let a sigh pass his lips. Then he glared at the monitor that had rewinded Mai's abnormal behavior. 'how troublesome, psychics with a loose screw were hard to deal with.'

...

By the morning Naru had already left, Mai went to play with Ayami while the rest did a walk through. Only Lin stayed on the base. As for Mai she didn't stay there because she was afraid that Gene will possess her in order to play his pranks.

She knocked on the door to Ayami's bedroom, Noriko was there and Ayami was playing house with Minnie. After a small talk regarding Ayami's behavior, Mai couldn't help but ask about Kana.

"Huh?" Noriko looked surprised, then chuckled, "She and my brother's relationship is really good. I get along with her too. Even though she can be strict, she's a good person. But Ayami-chan still acts nervous around her..."

"So that's how it is..." They chatted until 3:00 pm, when Kana came in to give them snacks. The maid had quit due to the fire incident.

Kana placed the cookie tray onto the table, then turned toward Ayami. "Ayami, are you playing by yourself? Such a good girl. What are you playing?"

Like a doll, Ayami's expression was emotionless. She did not look at Kana.

"At least answer me," Kana's voice tightened up,

".."

"they're snacks, after all." She roughly placed the cookies right in front of Ayami.

"What's wrong? You don't want them?"

Ayami shook her head. In response Kana glared at Ayami then left the room.

Noriko grabbed one of the cookies but Ayami slapped the cookie out of her hand while saying "Don't!"

"Eh?"

"They're poisoned!"

"Wha-"

Ayami tried her best to explain. "Minnie told me! The snacks are poisoned! That woman is an evil witch!"

'...An evil witch. Poison... ' the wind seems to whisper the same.

"Minnie told you this?" Mai asked for confirmation, she felt like she was being watched but tried to ignore it.

"Yes. That person is an evil witch. Don't trust her. She put Daddy under a spell and made him her slave. She thinks me and my sister are in the way, so she's trying to kill us!"

Goosebumps caused her to swallow her next questions.. she shouldn't ask further but Ayami continued

"Minnie told me. Minnie won't lie. So onee-chan and Mai-san must be careful! The witch wants to kill onee-chan, cut her body into pieces, and then hide them. Then she'll tell Daddy that onee-chan left home. The witch wants to make me drown in the pond and then say it's an accident!"

'were those giggles? Was Minnie laughing?' she stepped back and excused herself, she needed to tell Naru ASAP.

'maybe he's back? If not let's tell Lin-san' suddenly her hand was grabbed, interrupting her thoughts, she quickly turned around and there, she met Gene's eyes.. They were warm and a smile was the last she remembered before everything turned black.

Somewhere in the far end she could hear the end of the chat Bou-san was performing but she couldn't bring herself to focus on it and by the end she lost consciousness.

...

By dark Naru came back. The base was back to a meeting place and everyone gave their reports. A small argument from Ayako and Bou-san took place and before he could order something Mai set a tea cup in front of him.

He raised an eyebrow while Mai smiled innocently.

He took a sip and nearly spat it out but managed to hold it. He turned to glare at her but she had her trade's mark smirk on.

His eyes widened slightly, then he stood up, his face devoid of emotion. "Mai, come with me. We will examine the camera's angle on Ayami-chan's room"

"Okay." She followed him out, right after hiding a farting bag on Lin's chair

Instead of going to Ayami's room, Naru opened a room that didn't have any camera, it was a storage room.

"Gene"

"Hey bro, did you like the tea?"

"Do it again and Madoka will have something added to her, Eugene's blackmail list"

"Ouch, are we playing this game? I may let Mai know about what Madoka did to you, specially the penalties that required you to crossdress"

Fake smiles were presented to each other while angry veins popped behind their heads.

Naru sighed, he didn't have time to loose. "What do you want?"

Mai's lips turned to a huge grin in victory. But after clearing her throat Gene turned serious. "Ayami-chan is in danger"

"What?"

"Yeah, don't let her be alone, if possible let Mai be with her"

"I see, btw did you do something to Mai?"

"Are you worried?" Gene smirked

"She said it herself" Naru glared.

"Well I did, otherwise she would had target her" Mai's hands grabbed her chest. Her eyes widened slightly before she started to squeeze them.

Naru was deep in thought and when he was about to ask who was the 'she' he referred to, he saw Gene's actions.

Naru's face boiled and before he could process what he did, his hand had already hit her head in a Naru's chop act.

"Ouch! Ouch... Eh? Where am I?huh Naru?"

Naru face palmed himself.

"Ah that's right, Naru listen..." She told him about what Ayami had said."...Don't you think that's kind of scary?"

Naru sighed then thought about it for a moment, and answered, "I want to see the doll first. Where is it?"

...

"Over here." Noriko showed it to Naru.

"Oh? So this is Minnie?"

Noriko seemed confused, "Yes, it is..."

Naru took the doll, then squinted at it with his deep eyes, "When did you buy it?"

"Before we moved into this house. My brother went to Europe... This is a gift... He said it's from Paris."

"Did Ayami-chan's personality change before or after that?"

Noriko thought for a moment, "Afterwards...I think."

"I see..."

"Give it back!" Suddenly Ayami's voice shot out into the air. Mai jumped away in reaction while Ayami pulled at Naru's black clothes. "Give Minnie back! Don't touch her!"

"Ayami-chan, can you speak with Minnie?" he asked.

But Naru didn't get a reply. Ayami persistently stretched out her hand and finally grabbed the doll back from Naru.

"I won't let anyone touch her!" Ayami clutched onto Minnie, then turned around and ran.

Naru walked out, his face deep in concentration. Back on the base it was Mai's turn to watch over the screens.

After a lesson by your's truly, Naru-chan, Mai had murderous intentions but she managed to keep it together because the activity kept her from searching for a weapon.

The temperature on Ayami's room decreased dramatically. Three of the thermography machines whirred. They were now in temperature mode. The video camera slowly changed its angle until it faced the bed. In the center was Minnie, situated on top of a pillow.

They had taken Minnie away from Ayami when she fell asleep.

"You hear that? The temperature is dropping, don't you dare blame the wind" Ayako smirked.

Bou-san bit his lip "I definitely sent something out, I felt it"

She snorted but instead of retorting she focused her attention on the screen.

Minnie's emotionless face was in the videocam. Glass eyes. Emptiness.

"Dolls are creepy" Mai whispered.

Bou-san heard her and replied, "Well, of course." He crossed his arms. "Dolls used to be vessels for human souls. Hitogata resemble humans. In the past, they were used to curse people."

"Huh—?"

Ayako nodded, "It can serve as a channel for curses. Sealing spirits into voodoo dolls. Then you stick needles into the doll. If the voodoo doll is damaged, so is the person it represents. This is a method to hurt people."

Suddenly, everyone leaned forward, Naru had tensed and stood up. Which caused everyone to notice...

Minnie's head was facing downwards...

Her golden hair spread across the pillow. Under their intense gaze, she moved. Sliding and moving, she moved like a stiff puppet. Her head fell off.

The dismembered head rolled on the bed. Then there was the sound of it hitting something.

It was as if the doll was alive. Afterwards, the temperature in Ayami's room rose until it was back to normal range.

They rushed to her room. But everything was the same as they left it. The head didn't fall off. Minnie didn't seem any different; she was sitting in her old position.

When they returned to base and tried to rewind the video it was gone, no sound, nor image... Just whiteness. The equipment however was working properly which left many things unanswered.

...

When the next morning came, Mai went to base, apparently Naru had gone away to investigate but when she heard that both Kana and Noriko where gone to shop, a chill instantly made it through her.

She didn't wait for any reply from Bou-san that had informed her and instead she hurriedly went to Noriko's room where Ayami was supposed to be.

She was about to knock but a voice stopped her ... , "This house is filled with witches" —It was the voice of a little girl.

She knew that voice...it was not Ayami's... But... She pressed her ear to the door to hear better.

"I'm scared..." Ayami whimpered.

"Don't be. I will chase them away."

"Will onee-chan be gone? Will Mai-san too?"

A dark snicker—"Of course..."

"I like being with my onee-chan."

"No, no. I told you already. Your onee-chan is the witch's underling." —Another snicker— "But don't worry. I'll help you deal with them... So in return, you must listen to me."

Mai opened the door... Her face was pale... She saw them, the kids and they all smiled back at her...

Their smiles however screamed of mischievousness... "You heard?" One of them asked.

Mai played dumb... "Heard? Where you talking about me?" She put on her best smile.

One kid Narrowed his eyes but the others were fooled.

A shiver ran down her back, it told her to run but she couldn't leave Ayami alone... 'huh? Gene?' it was momentarily but he had grabbed her shoulder and squeeze it slightly before disappearing.

'Ayami was not alone, she had friends'

"Ne, I want to know more about you guys. How did you guys met?"

"It was Minnie, she brought them here" Ayami answered, a big smile on her face.

...

Naru came back an hour later than yesterday... Reports once again were given.

When he asked Mai about Ayami... She bit her lip and told him what she had heard... She told him as well that Minnie had brought the kids together. That it was the reason they had met.

Naru Narrowed his eyes, she still referred to them as kids, not like ghosts... He couldn't point it out due to Gene's warning.

"That doll is dangerous" Bou-san said what everyone were thinking. It was funny how they didn't catched Mai's comment on the other kids. Only Naru and Lin were aware.

"The doll may be possessed, I will like to do an exorcism on it, is that alright Naru-bou?"

"It is worth to try " he nodded.

"Hold on a moment," Ayako called out to Bou-san, "we can't know for sure if the exorcism will work. Why don't we call Masako?" She cleared her throat before continuing "If Masako were here, we can find out for sure if that doll is possessed,"

"That would be unnecessary, Bou-san go on with the exorcism"

Ayako seemed unsatisfied. "But isn't this way more dangerous? If the doll is possessed, then during an exorcism, won't the spirit possess Ayami-chan instead?"

"It's possible... Matsuzaki-san, can you protect Ayami-chan?" "

"...Oh?" A look of surprise flashed across Ayako's face. "I never thought you could be so considerate. I didn't expect you to let me do this."

"I thought you might like a chance to redeem yourself."

She pushed her hair out and pouted but confidence emanated from her.

...

The exorcism started, Mai was set as a messanger carrying out everyone's ready signal.

After a while Naru cocked his head, deep in thought. Suddenly there was a moaning sound. The sound came from Ayami-chan's room. When they got there, it looked like a small hurricane just went through the room. Everything was messy; the furniture were all pushed and slanted onto the walls.

Ayako held the chalk-faced Ayami while Noriko shrank onto the bed.

"Noriko-san, are you alright?" Mai asked.

She didn't reply...

Mai asked again. "Noriko-san?!"

Her pale face was wrought with fear as tears filled her eyes.

"What's wrong? Does something hurt?"

"...My leg..."

"What's wrong with your leg?"

Bou-san ran up to us to look at her foot. "...Her ankle... Is dislocated..."

Noriko-san's right foot was longer than her left foot because her ankle was dislocated.

"Call an ambulance" Bou-san said.

"No, Mai" Naru ordered.

Mai nodded while she stopped Bou-san from storming against Naru.

Noriko clutched her hand. She could feel her shaking.

"The person... Who pulled my foot... Was very strong."

"...Who...?"

"I don't know..."

Bou-san pointed at her foot. There was a clear hand print near her ankle. ...A child's hand print.

"That's why, she needs to go to the hospital!"

Ayako finally got out of her shock and agreed with the Monk.

Naru sighed.

"Noriko-san this will hurt, but please don't move" Mai put her hands on each side of her ankle, they didn't touch her but they soon began to glow...

"What the!?" Both spiritualist exclaimed.

"Sister?" Ayami asked.

Noriko eyes widened slightly before they closed in pain, suddenly the sound of her ankle going back to its place echoed in the room.

Mai instantly let go and pushed herself away from her, ah... she did it too fast... She grabbed the nearest trash can and threw up. Naru raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry" Mai whimpered, " he is being a pain in the butt, he really messed me up" Naru was the only one that had heard her. But he only snorted.

Mai glared at him, she had catched the 'what part?' insinuation.

Both Ayako and Bou-san closed their mouths, they turned to look at each other then back at Mai, but they didn't know what to ask... , they already knew she was weird, but not that weird...

...

Kana had a small argument with the spiritualist but Naru put a stop to it, he began to interrogate Ayami instead.

"Did Minnie do this?"

Ayami didn't answer. Then she looked like she just remembered something. "Where's Minnie?!"

"I'm taking care of Minnie for you right now. Can you tell me some things about Minnie?"

"Give Minnie back to me!"

"When did Minnie start talking?"

"Give Minnie back! She's my friend!"

"Ayami-chan!" Naru's imposing voice made the little girl shrink back even more. "Listen, your onee-chan is injured. Minnie did that, right?"

Ayami's eyes were filled with tears. She looked like an injured animal.

"This is troublesome for everyone. Does Minnie think this is okay?"

Ayami shook her head, unsure of what to say. "Ayami-chan!" The moment Naru shouted, Ayami-chan started to cry. She rushed off the bed and ran to Mai that was on the floor and had her back against a wall.

"Mai!" she cried out.

"Don't worry. Don't be scared," Mai hugged her.

Naru's voice was still cold and stern. "Ayami-chan, Minnie, did she..."

Suddenly Mai glared at him with such an intensity that everyone on the room got goosebumps, Naru flinched and Ayami even jumped.

"...I'm...sor...ry!"

"Ayami-chan..." Mai relaxed and called her name softly

She held onto Mai's hand. "Minnie told me I can't speak with anyone else! If I do, she'll punish everyone!"

"...Minnie said that?"

Sobbing, Ayami nodded. "Minnie said I can't speak with other people. If I do, she'll hurt everyone else. But I really want to play with onee-chan and Mai-san...!"

Ayami answered all of Naru's questions.

"What else?" Just to be sure nothing was out, he asked.

"Minnie said onee-chan is also on the witch's side. Minnie said she'll protect me, but then I can't talk to other people... Sometimes I forget what she says, and I play with onee-chan. But then Minnie messes up my room and hides my toys."

"You didn't tell anyone about this?" Ayami-chan shook her head.

...

After the confession they decided to put Minnie on quarantine.

On the base they began to discuss if Minnie was the cause of everything.

But Naru refused it, he said Minnie wasn't the cause. Mai had an ice bag on her head, it was for the headache she got from putting Noriko's ankle back in place. But even like that she noticed that Naru was paler that usual...

'was he suffering from tea withdrawal?' she stood up and made him a cup of tea while pressing the ice bag so it didn't fall out.

Naru continued to talk while she did this.

"The problem is Minnie is being used as a vessel... The doll, however, is just a toy. A ghost in this house has possessed Minnie..." Naru raised his eyes. "Minnie is dangerous. We must find the real culprit."

She set the cup in front of him and he instantly turned to her, he narrowed his eyes and she raised an eyebrow.

"What? No thank you?"

Naru sighed and quickly took a sip of the tea ".." his complexion changed instantly

Mai rolled her eyes and went back to her seat. 'tea addicts, they can't live without it'

Suddenly, Noriko entered the room calling for Mai.

"What's wrong?"

"Please, come with me. Shibuya-san, you too. Something strange happened."

"What?" Noriko pulled them into the corridor.

Kana's face was chalk white as she looked at the wall.

"Come quickly! Look!" Noriko pointed at the wall behind them. After they all turned around, they sucked in a big breath.

Words completely covered the wall.

"This bad child must be punished." Bou-san read out loud

"Bad child, meaning Ayami-chan...?" Mai asked.

Naru nodded in response.

"Ayami-chan violated her promise with Minnie of speaking with other people. Minnie thinks Ayami-chan betrayed her... Mai."

"Eh?"

"Stay with Ayami-chan and protect her." Naru closed his eyes and cursed slightly 'even Gene went to the trouble to say it and I forgot about it'

"Alright"

"Good, I won't back away, I will call in a professional"

Mai blinked and leaned to the side cutely... "Ah! John-san! "

"glad to know your memory is still working"

She tried to glare at him but her headache didn't allowed it so she huffed instead.

* * *

Oh yes, Lin think Mai is crazy. Why? He thinks Mai is the one pranking him. As I mentioned I gave clues on what Mai is but I will reveal it till the blood stained lab. Consequences of using her abilities are ambiguous on purpose xD

Also... Next chapter is one of my favorites, I was going to add it here but it was too long already...


	9. Chapter 9

Couldn't resist... I was being hunted by this story.

Love your reviews! They boosted this chapter out of me xD

Special thanks to: Mortisvenom, Celline The Sleeping Beauty, Mythelfa! Lots of love and hugs to you.

Thank you everyone as well for the alerts and faves!

Disclaimer I don't own Ghost Hunt.

* * *

In the afternoon, Mai and Noriko sat in the backyard while playing House with Ayami. Naru and the others were cleaning the message on the wall. They didn't want Ayami to see it.

Minnie wasn't with Ayami, Bou-san had sealed the doll in a box with a protective charm on it. He was trying to burn the box to see if it will work. The first attempt had failed, right now, he was in his Monk's robes trying it a second time...

After the writing on the wall, Kana was missing. There was a note on the living room table.

"I need a break from this creepy house"

It was the only sentence on the paper. Noriko was kind of surprised. The maid had resigned, and now, Kana left. Only she and Ayami remained.

"Mai," Ayami handed her a paper cup. "Have some tea."

"Thank you." She smiled to her while bowing. Ayami burst in laughter and continued serving tea.

"You too, sister, have some tea"

"Thank you"

"does your foot hurt?" Ayami suddenly asked.

Noriko shook her head. "It's fine now. As long as Ayami-chan cares about me, it'll be okay."

An angelic smile lit up Ayami's face.

"May I see it? I was only able to get it back in it's place yesterday"

"Ah, no it's okay. It's only a bruise now"

"I insist, I wasn't in my best yesterday so I wish to make sure"

"Is that so?"

Noriko pulled out her shoe and showed it to Mai. The child's hand print was blue but once Mai's hands were glowing it began to disappear

"With this, you're completely recovered"

"Eh? Thank you so much! But are you alright? You look pale. Thinking about it you were sick yesterday too after treating me, I won't ask what exactly is that you do nor who are you but is this a consequence from using your powers?"

"Ah, yeah, sort of, is not exactly a big deal. Sometimes I get dizzy, but most of the times I get a headache. Yesterday was... Well special in a way..." Mai tried to smile but it was a weak one 'without mentioning the bloody nose'

"Mai-san, are you a super hero?" Ayami's eyes were sparkling.

"No, no, I can't compare to them. I also don't think this ability is a power"

"But your hands glowed!"

"Ayami-chan, calm down. Mai-chan may have a reason she can't tell us"

"But-"

"I'm sorry Ayami-chan, even I wish to be a super hero... But..." Mai bit her lip trying her best to swallow her dizziness. She didn't want to burst her bubble, what could she tell her instead?

Both Ayami and Noriko turned to each other, then turned back to look at Mai.

"I'm sorry...ah! I Know, I will get you the best flowers that I can find!" Ayami changed the subject and proudly stated her intentions.

"Then I'll go with you," Noriko offered

"Okay! I will go for the white ones, sister should take the yellow ones!" She pointed to the other side from where she was.

"Ok how many?"

"Mmmm lots! Mai-san, do you want a flower crown?"

"Sure! I will love to have one" Mai nodded as Ayami bent, her hand was reaching towards a flower. Suddenly Ayami screamed.

"Kyaaah! No!"

"Ayami-chan?!" Both Noriko and Mai asked out loud.

Ayami turned and twisted in effort to get her hand back. But her hand was stuck.

Noriko held onto her hands and pulled, but they just wouldn't budge.

"Ayami-chan!" Mai called out again, this time trying her best to stand, but her dizziness made her fall.

Noriko moved the flowers apart in an attempt to see what was holding onto her hand. Ayami's hand was immediately released. Crying, she ran off.

Mai tried to look at the purple flowers but nothing was there... 'purple? Weren't they white?'

"Ayami-chan! Wait!" Noriko called out to the little girl.

At her raised voice Mai turned to look, she saw that Ayami was running deep into the garden.

"Wait! Come back! There's a pond over there!" Noriko ran after her.

'the pond! The one Noriko-san was scared of' Mai bit her hand and managed to suppress her dizziness enough to run after them.

'Naru won't let me live, if something happened to our clients' she lied to herself. Will power boosted her speed, Deep down she wondered if she was a masochist but she paid no mind to it.

To the south of the house was a big, deep pond. The petals of the lotus tree near the pond often fell into the water.

"Minnie! I'm sorry!" Ayami screamed, as if she was running from something. Then she ran around the lotus tree.

"Ayami-chan!" Noriko catched her when she had ran around the lotus tree, but just when she picked her up, her foot slipped.

"Noriko, Ayami!" Mai grabbed Noriko's hand and used her body momentum to pull both of them away.

Mai went straight to the pond while Noriko landed on her bottom with Ayami in her arms.

"Mai-chan!" Noriko screamed

"Wuahhh! Don't hurt her!" Ayami cried out "Mai!" Her crying got louder.

"Mai-chan! Where are you!?"

The pond was supposed to be deep enough to cover her entirely but as seconds passed the murky water began to splash...

Mai's head surfaced, she began to coughed loudly. Running then swimming were very exhausting, she didn't even have the chance to grab enough air before falling.

"Mai-chan!"

"I'm fine-" she couldn't finish, she was pulled away from the surface.

"No! Mai" Ayami tried to go for her but Noriko grabbed her and ran towards the house. Calling out for Shibuya-san out loud.

"Shibuya-san! Shibuya-san please!" She bursted open the back door.

Naru jumped out of the base. Ayami was crying loudly.

"What's-"

"Mai saved us, she fell on to the pond! She can't come out!"

Naru froze when he heard that, Lin jumped right away and ran out. Thank to him he was able to react and began to run.

In his mind Gene's body being thrown out to a lake replayed.

Mai surfaced again, this time she could only try to open her mouth before being sank in the water again.

She couldn't see anything below , her eyes hurt but she felt something small near her arm, she grabbed it and the hands that were pulling her stopped...

She reached the surface and breathed heavily. After a few coughs she pulled out the object... It was a small sandal made from wood... they were often used with yukatas or kimonos, like the ones Masako Hara used.

"Taniyama-san!" Lin's voice called out to her, bringing her back to reality. He was running towards her.

She tried to respond but her throat was hoarse. Instead she swam to the nearest edge. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out. Naru arrived just in time to see her crawling out of it.

"..."

"Thanks Lin-san" her voice was a mere whisper. Lin just nodded and turned to look at Naru who's skin tone was resembling one from a ghost.

She seemed to notice as well and did her best to make her voice strong. "I'm fine"

He flinched then nodded. His eyes looked like he was scanning her for injuries and they settled on her hand, there was a bite mark.

"Ah... That's mine" she smiled weakly.

He sighed and took out his jacket, then he pulled it over her shoulders. Lin made some space by stepping off a few steps. His eyes were slightly widened. Even his blobs were frozen beside him. Mai hadn't seen them in a while because he was being careful of her.

"Can you stand?" Naru offered his hand.

Mai raised an eyebrow when the blobs flinched, but she took his hand anyway. 'Why were they dancing now?'

Once she was on her feet, she raised and eyebrow to Lin and motioned to the blobs.

He cleared his throat and they stopped dancing, instead they went to hide behind him. A wry smile was presented to her. 'you think I will answer? After all you have done?'

Mai gasped.

He snorted which meant 'foolish girl'

She sulked, she will need to have a serious talk with Gene. 'speaking about him... Where was he?'

Naru squeeze her hand, then began to lead her back to the house...

"Huh?" Why was he still holding her hand? 'wait where's the wood sandal?' she turned to look around but it was nowhere to be seen.

"What's wrong?" Naru turned to look over his shoulder. Then stopped walking "your nose is bleeding, did you used your abilities?"

"Ah" she covered her nose "sorta... Before running off"

Naru sighed and turned to Lin "take her to the base"

He nodded and picked Mai up in bridal style.

"Wait- I can walk!"

It was too late, she hand to grab onto Lin or she will fall. She could hear the giggles from the kids but for some unknown reason the blobs reacted negatively, they began to vibrate and make sounds like small growls.

Lin simply turned to look at them briefly and continue to walk without a care.

'perhaps it isn't the first time that happened'

...

"Mai, thank God" Noriko cried at the back door, Ayami nodded repeatedly.

"I'm alright, I'm sorry to worry you two" Mai still held her nose. But bowed the best she could while trying to hold to Lin's neck.

She instantly returned the bowed "No, I should apologize. It was all thanks to you that we are alright, we should have been more careful"

Noriko and Ayami both made way for them to pass and then excused themselves, they were going to rest upstairs.

Naru nodded and advised to call for any of them if something happened. Afterwards he continued to lead the way to base.

...

"Wow Jou-chan, if you wanted to swim, the beach was a better option"

"Haha, very funny" Mai stuck her tongue out, her nose had stopped bleeding. Suddenly her eyes caught an unusual objects

Minnie, the doll that was supposed to be burnt to smithereens... Was sitting on the shelf...

"Wha-?" Before she could ask, Ayako who was taking care of her nails answered.

"He couldn't burn it, his exorcism failed" a smirk grew on her lips.

"The box burned, but Minnie didn't." He sighed and continued "Even though Naru-bou said it would be no use, I still thought it would work with a doll. I've encountered this situation before. The doll-loving girl died and possessed her doll. Every night, the doll would move and spill water everywhere."

Naru still held onto his beliefs. "There's nothing wrong with the doll. The problem lies within the spirit that's possessing Minnie. That's all."

Ayako suddenly brought in the desire to have a person who can use psychometric on objects.

"Um... I am heavy, can I get off now?" Lin who was standing still finally remembered he still had her and set her down on the couch.

A farting sound echoed loudly.

Everyone's eyes were on her. With a tomato face she pulled out a farting bag that was beneath her.

Bou-san and Ayako's laughter were unstoppable, Naru had turned his back to her but she noticed his shoulders were shaking. Lin... Lin had a triumphant look on, he covered his full blown smile with his hand and suppressed his laughter.

She narrowed her eyes to him. He cleared his throat and evilly muttered to her "payback"

"The Hell? I haven't-"

"For Mai's sake Psychometry" Naru cleared his throat loudly and both Ayako and Bou-san turned off the volume of their laughter. " It's a type of ESP. The term was coined by an American scientist, Buchanan. In other words, it's token-object reading. After touching the object, all things about the object can be known. Information on the origin of the object, the past owners of the object, and the present owner can all be known after one touch. Gerard Croiset of the Netherlands and Peter Filis of the U.S. are well known for their ability."

He explained deeply, if he didn't interrupted her, Gene's name would had been mentioned... 'that was close'

"Wow...amazing. That must be really convenient." Sparkles were in her eyes "then again quite troublesome.. specially if the police was involved"

The atmosphere turned back to normal. Bou-san sighed "That's right. If they touch the missing person's belongings, then they can pinpoint the location of the missing person. Whether it's Croiset or Peter— or other famous psychometrists, like England's Oliver Davis and America's Alex Tanous, all of them help the police find missing people."

"Quite a tough job" Mai muttered to herself "if they touch an object and the person it belong's to had died... Then..."

"Don't go there kiddo... " Bou-san messed up her hair

" well we can't get a psychometrist," Ayako sighed. "At least call Hara Masako. She might be able to help. What do you think?"

"I said that would be unnecessary," Naru refused, his voice stone hard with certainty. Then he stood up. "I'm going to check up on Ayami-chan."

"I'm coming with you!" Mai followed, her clothes were still wet but she had Naru's jacket on so she didn't care. 'it seems Naru doesn't like working with Masako, does he hate scandals? perhaps overly familiar interactions?'

"... You should rest, weren't you bleeding a while ago?"

"Like that can stop me" Mai grinned

He sighed but a thin line that resembled a smile could be seen on his face.

She blushed but quickly slapped her face with both hands. "Weapons!"

The 'you're annoying' look was on now.

"Awesome control sir!" She saluted.

He rolled his eyes and the thin smile was on again.

'nooo, I'm really a masochist, can't bring myself to say it again... How will he look with a smile? The one that reaches his eyes? Can I have a shot of that instead?'

The knocking sound on Noriko's door caused by Naru, stopped her inner monologues.

She answered and let them in. Ayami was sleeping soundly in Noriko's bed. Looking at her sleeping face, Noriko spoke, "I want to give my brother a call about moving out of this house."

Naru's tone stopped her. "Some poltergeists will follow those who move."

"Then tell me what to do! When will this all end?! Only Ayami-chan and I are left in this house!" She was desperate

Naru didn't answer right away but instead he asked. "Noriko-san... Do you know about the history of this house?"

"...History?"

"I've done some research on the past owners of this house."

He explained his findings, about the owners that didn't have any children under a certain age and that nothing out of the ordinary happened to them. Then previous owners whose children had died. Even if the child will move out they will still die.

".So what you're saying is... Children about eight years old are in danger here...?" Mai summarized

"Seems like it."

"...Then what should I do!" Noriko cried out.

"If you want to move away, I won't stop you. But please wait. As of now, you will be in danger even if you move. I've already called a professional so if you want to move out, at least wait for him to come."

Noriko nodded her head in consent

...

John arrived by sunset. He introduced himself with the Kansai accent and requested to see Ayami and the doll. Ayami was still sleeping but even so he opened his Bible then, he used holy water and Drew the cross on her forehead, afterwards he put a silver cross on her while praying softly under his breath.

"I'm not sure if this will help out, but better this than nothing."

"Thank you." Noriko bowed to him.

Smiling, John turned around to ask Naru, "Shibuya-san, where's the doll?"

...

It had run away, when they went to base, under Lin's watchful eyes it had escaped. He apologized for his carelessness.

. "It'll come back... Definitely." Naru said poker face back on.

It was 2:00 a.m

The house started to shake. The poltergeist activity started. It was almost as if it was looking for something in its rampage to turn the house upside down. All the furniture moved, rapping noises started, and stomping sounds could be heard.

"It's so... Strong," John murmured uneasily. "The degree of it is so high."

Bou-san stared at the equipment. "Looks like John's prayer is working."

He began to explain about this type of boundary in which the spirit can't enter.

Mai didn't exactly understood but she turned to look at the screens. In the middle was one TV screen, shining bright red. The microphone was transmitting sounds.

"Naru! Machine #6 is receiving sound!"

"Switch it." "

Okay." Sound overflowed from the speakers. They were children... Crying while searching and making a mess

'no...'

"How many children are there?" Naru asked aloud The ghostly sounds faded earlier than usual, and soon a dark silence was looming over them. Nothing changed.

'no..'

Before Naru could ask Mai, Ayako, who was supposed to be watching Ayami, ran toward them.

"Naru!"

"What's wrong?"

"Minnie came back!"

Ayako handed a bundle wrapped in bedsheets to him.

John came over and unwrapped the bundle, closing the doll's marble eyes.

"When did it appear?"

"Just now. Noriko-san noticed a bundle under the blanket near Ayami's legs... She unfolded it and found Minnie."

"Is Ayami-chan okay?"

"...She's fine..." Ayako finally composed herself.

"Shibuya-san, I will begin now"

Naru nodded.

'are the children-' Mai couldn't finish her thoughts Gene was squeezing her shoulder.

John took the doll out and asked Bou-san and Ayako to help him watch over it while he prepared the altar.

Soon only Lin, Naru and her where left.

'Eugene... Why... I...'

'Sorry Mai... I don't do well near water'

'not that... Why are you doing this? '

"Mai" Naru called out to her, she met his eyes... Fear was building inside of her.

"Tell him to stop" she pleaded but her voice was low, just enough to reach him.

"..." Naru's eyes widened.

"Please don't let him..."

'Mai, you mustn't know'

Her shoulder was squeezed tightly and a tear ran down her face. Suddenly she blinked.

"Huh? Naru what's wrong?"

"..." Naru bit the inside of his mouth, if Gene was doing this... Then...

"Is 'he' here?" He asked her quietly for Lin not to hear...

...

"Who?"

"No one, go help John" he turned his back to her...

"Roger!" She beamed

...

At 4:00 a.m. John had finished preparing the altar.

Minnie was placed inside, underneath a silver cross of Christ. John took out a glass bottle, then started to pray.

"In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God..." Minnie had her eyes closed, nothing moved but the tension around her grew...

"Please look over us and protect us." John spoke softly. The small silver cross, similar to the one Ayami has, had been laid across Minnie's forehead.

Crack.

It was the sound of the cross breaking. Minnie's eyes fluttered open. Behind Mai, Ayako took in a deep breath.

John shifted around slightly, then continued his prayer.

The Doll began to levitate. John's voice grew stronger

"All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made." John opened his thick bible and raised the glass bottle.

"In the beginning..." John read and moved the glass bottle. He sprinkled holy water onto Minnie.

Minnie's body rumbled. Smoke appeared where the water touched.

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." John read and sprinkled holy water at the same time.

Then, a wisp of smoke rose from Minnie's forehead, followed by a cracking sound. The doll's skirt fluttered in the wind. It made the doll fall back to the altar.

"The light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." He closed the Bible and it sounded so loud in the noiseless room. Ayako was the first to exhale the air she had been holding, Bou-san quickly followed and so did Mai.

There was a scar of the cross on Minnie's forehead. Naru picked it up.

"The exorcism was successful," John announced as he turned around to look at them."However, the ghost did not disappear. Just to be safe, I think we should burn it."

Naru nodded and handed the doll to Bou-san. Bou-san burned Minnie in the backyard. This time the doll was easily overtaken by the fire as it burned to smithereens.

* * *

Freaking long! Geez, I was originally going to add more but no, let's save some details for later xD getting closer to the parts I can't help but want to write! This was mostly based on the LN the manga cut off a lot... But! This is more fan modified than previous chapters! Beware xD read the LN and you will see


	10. Chapter 10

Hi! I just moved to a different house and I didn't have internet. I'm sorry for the delay.

This chapter is mostly fan made, the manga is too fast it will feel rushed and LN is way, waaaay different than both the anime and manga. It is great, but it doesn't work with how I want things to go...

Disclaimer I don't own Ghost Hunt... I don't think I need to continue doing this... First chapter should be enough right? For the disclaimer thingy... It hurts.

Thank you greatly for the reviews and faves! The story feels rushed, I know sorry but help will come!

Special thanks to Jun-Shang88! CaithCaitHawke! Juniper and Sp00pyGhost!

* * *

"Now what do we do? How do we take care of this? There were so many voices; it's not just one or two. It's not just Minnie." Bou-san questioned

Ayako agreed, "There are other ghosts here besides Minnie. But no one can see them except Ayami-chan."

"Those are the kids that Minnie brought over..." Naru said, irritated that he had to repeat himself

"Well, isn't that the case?" Ayako asked Naru. "We can't just guess like crazy. Why don't we call Masako?"

Naru's face was stern. "There's no need"

"...Well, let's put that to the side for now. I believe Minnie is a jibakurei, right? There must've been a strong reason for Minnie to become a jibakurei. She's one of the kids who died here, right?" John said

"Most likely." Bou-san nodded. "Minnie is a jibakurei. She died here as a child, and since she's lonely, she wants friends. That's why she brought all those other kids here. The kids that die here become her playmates. Then they turn into jibakurei too..."

Naru considered the idea. "Yes...that would make sense, but..."

"But what?"

"The problem is why is it just kids? If a child wants to find a playmate, then it wouldn't be limited to just kids. A motherly figure, a sister figure, or anyone who can be comforting... These should suffice as well."

"You do have a point."

"But those spirits only care about Ayami-chan. If Noriko-san and Mai were also targets, then it would make more sense. But Ayami-chan is the only one they want"

"Mmm" Mai started "but even if they wanted more friends, of their age... isn't it already enough? Why get more? It doesn't make sense"

"..."

"What about the first kid who died here? Do we know anything about it?" asked John.

Naru turned to Lin, he gave him a notebook. After flipping through the pages Naru finally stopped on a page.

"Bou-san, it's your turn"

"Eh?"

Naru gave the notebook to him. Tilting his head in return, Bou-san read it.

"The first child who died here was Tachibana. The birth and death dates are below the name. The child was in the Buddhist sect. Below that is her post-"Buddhist name"."

Bou-san stared at the notebook, his eyes open wide. "...You sure did thorough research... All this is from seventy years ago..."

"This is a simple task for me. I'm not the same as you."

*Cough* "narcissist" *cough* it was Mai who was faking her coughing.

Bou-san snorted and left the room suppressing his laughter.

"John, Matsuzaki-san. Stay with Ayami-chan"

Both nodded, Ayako took a second longer to leave. She turned to look at her manicure before pushing her hair away from her shoulder.

"Mai pay attention"

"Hai!" Naru had startled her.

When she turned to look, she saw Bou-san on the screen. His voice was loud and clear.

"Naumaku sanmanda danan on boron."

"Naru, the temperature is decreasing," Lin informed him

"What about the sounds?"

"Right now there's nothing different... In fact, it's eerily quiet."

"On sunba nisunba un bazara un hakku."

"The temperature decreased by... Two degrees. Especially the temperature near the bed. There are no abnormal sounds."

"Naumaku shittiriyazibikyanan sarabatataagyatanan an birazibirazi."

"..." Mai blinked. 'Was the house underwater?' she stepped away from the screens.

"...The rapping sounds have started. Should I transfer them?"

"Not right now."

"Nee.. Mai-chan"

"Huh?" She met the eyes of the kid that was pulling out her skirt...

"Nee... Let's play!"

"Tachibana-chan?"

"Makasyakyara baziri satasata saratei tairatarai bidamani sanbanzyani taramati siddariya taran sowaka."

"The temperature is decreasing dramatically... Especially the bed's surroundings. It's about ten degrees now."

Lin flinched, he quickly turned around. His blobs dangerously growling at the giggles behind him.

"I can't right now, I'm working" Mai said sweetly... "Later"

Naru turned to look at them. But he didn't move from his spot on the screens.

"No! Let's play now!" The room shook slightly. The kid lifted her skirt up in the air and ran out of the room.

In slow motion everyone's eyes widened... Lin quickly adverted his eyes while Naru stayed shocked. The color on Mai's face turned from ghostly white to red in seconds.

Her hands clumsily brought her skirt back in place.

"..."

"Uwaaa! Tachibana-chan! Get back here!"

Lin snapped back at that name but she was out of the room. He turned to the monitors, she was heading towards the living room...

"N- " he bit his tongue "the temperature is negative 2 in the living room"

"Negative...?!" Naru jerked back and look at Lin in disbelief.

There was smoke swirling around. It looked like white mist, that fog turned to form the face of child.

Bursting through the doors Mai stepped in. Her face was still red and she was panting excessively.

"I got..." She reached out to the ghostly kid but she passed through it "...you?" She fell straight to the floor.

Mai sat there confused. The fog getting thicker.

Cursing, Naru grabbed the walkie talkie

"Bou-san! Tachibana isn't on that room, she is in the living room. Get Mai out of there!"

"The heck? What is Jou-chan doing there?"

"Just get there!"

...

Mai started to back away, something was coming. She hit a wall with her back.

The doors burst open this time the Monk made it through.

"Why the heck are you here? And why is it so freaking cold here?"

He helped her stand up while complaining out loud.

"Bou... Bou-san" Mai pointed out with a shaking finger.

A tall dark shadow began to form in the middle of the room.

"Naumari saba tatakiyateibiyari sarabamokkeibiyari sarabata taraku..." He didn't had a chance to finish. He was thrown out

'Tomiko'

... Mai fell forward her consciousness faded.

...

"She is alright, just unconscious" Ayako brushed Mai's hair.

"For a second there I thought we wouldn't make it, but just like that everything cleared..." Bou-san commented while pressing an ice bag to his head.

Naru who was examining the tape, turned to the monk. "Bou-san, did you see that black figure?"

"I did. It was a woman, not a child."

"Maybe that living room has..."

"A woman."

Ayako stood up, "Since things have gone this far, call Masako. We must find out that woman's identity."

Naru sighed. He didn't like it but nodded. Since it was Ayako's idea, she was the one that called her.

"Ugh" Mai slowly sat down, she held her head with a hand.

"Took you long, I don't pay you to sleep"

"Shut up pervert"

"Who are you calling a pervert?" An ice glare made her back straighten up.

"Who else? Lin-san at least looked away" she blushed but glared back.

"Eh? What's this? Something interesting happened and I wasn't there?" Bou-san asked amused

Both teens turned to glare at him.

"You're the real pervert here!" Ayako threw a pillow to him. (Mai had been using it on the couch)

"Eh? How did that go from them to me?"

"Baka! Even if something did happen, an old man like you should keep his nose away" the sound of the bell stopped Ayako from beating the Monk.

...

"Um excuse me Shibuya-san, Hara-san is here" John opened the door to the base. He was supporting a very pale Masako.

"Hara-san?" Naru asked, his tone full of indifference.

"It's so... Strong... I feel uncomfortable."

"I can feel the spirits of many children gathered here. They're all children. On my way here, I saw three children headed toward this house. This is like a congregation of ghost children."

Suddenly her face changed...Her expression was hard to recognize, but it was almost like a mask of hatred.

"Tomiko!" She exclaimed, her hands trying to reach Naru's neck. Mai instantly jumped and stopped her.

"She's possessed! Bou-san!" Mai did her best to held her.

Bou-san stuck his hands together and chanted, "On asanmo ginei un hatta!"

After his recitation, Masako's body became limp.

"Woow there"

A girl in a kimono was difficult to held on, so Mai had to hug her. She was way heavier than Mai ever thought. John quickly came to help, they put her on the couch.

...

She woke up an hour later.

"How do you feel?" Naru asked.

Masako shook her head, her face still deathly pale. "I'm fine... I seemed to have been possessed."

"Do you remember calling for Tomiko?"

"Tomiko..." Masako said dazily. "Yes, I remember... That's the woman's child, a daughter in fact... That female spirit is looking for her daughter, Tomiko. That's why she's calling in more children."

"In other words, that woman is searching for her own daughter, but in the end, she is simply collecting all these children." He said in a hard tone. "Since she can't find her own child, she tricks all these other innocent children into coming, and not only that, she's also utilizing them as tools."

Masako nodded, a sad looking expression made it to her face.

"Those children cannot pass on. That woman won't let them go. They're simply wandering in Chuute... They can't go anywhere," Naru continued.

"...Ah," Bou-san nodded in agreement. "Ghosts that are lingering around do not know that they have died. It's the same with those children. To those children, they believe they are lost, not dead. That's why they want to go home..."

...

In the silence, Naru picked up his jacket.

"Lin, I'm going out for a while. I don't know when I'm coming back. Take care of Ayami-chan."

'no way " Mai thought... 'the kids are dead?'

She swallowed hard, she felt anger and sorrow but at the same time felt empty and cold. She stood up. Gene had messed her up, she was doubting him, could she trust him after what he has done?

She turned to look at the screens. Behind heh, plans to exercise the place and take Ayami-chan to a hotel were made.

She felt a chill way stronger than with kuroda...it was running up and down her back.

"...What?"

In the living room, A small figure came through the door.

"Ayami-chan...!"

Mai ran out of the base in seconds.

"Taniyama-san?"

The speakers transmitted Ayami-chan's laughter. "What? They brought me here, " Ayami-chan said. Everyone left in the base froze on the spot. Their eyes were wide as they watched the screens.

"No one wants to go to sleep? It's late, but they still want to play? They'll be reprimanded."

Mai made it there just when she said it.

"Ayami come here, is late"

"Eh, but they want to play. They want you to play with them too"

As if confirming that, Mai was dragged by her foot towards the center.

"Stop you're hurting Mai-chan!" Ayami cried. She ran towards Mai and Mai held her in her arms.

the wail of their cries made Lin-san ran out of the base. His blobs were snarling.

In the base everyone could see on the screens that, a dark shadow was beginning to form.

... "Tomi... Tomiko"

"Is the woman, she is coming out" Masako gasped, her hands quickly covering her ears.

Bou-san ran out of the base.

"Taniyama-san!"

"Lin-san!"

A table was thrown at him, he Dodge it. He made a dash towards them but the floor tilted towards the right and he fell down.

Mai felt hands grabbing her neck. She turned to Ayami, she was crying but she wasn't the one that was doing it.

"Tomiko"

She narrowed her eyes as the pressured increased.

"Aya...mi get.. to Lin"

"No, I'm scared" she cried trying to snuggle in Mai's arms.

Mai's hands glowed slightly. She grabbed one of the ghost hands and pulled hard.

"Lin-san take her out!"

She pushed Ayami and the poor kid slid down to him. Just when he grabbed her. The floor tilted once again and this time both Ayami and Lin slid.

Lin managed to grab a door frame stopping them from crashing against the broken table. When he managed to stand up. Bou-san called out.

"Lin-san, here!"

Without doubting, he passed Ayami to him (more like threw her to him, quite a distance to call that a pass)

Bou-san catched the kid easily.

Just then the sound of wood breaking echoed loudly and all activity died. There was a huge hole where Mai once was.

"Taniyama-san!"

* * *

Ok, although I modified the story, this still feels rushed! Uwaaah T-T Sp00pyGhost I failed. It appears that I will need to bother you from now on. I will be in your care ;)

I don't wish to rush but the story itself is rushing xD gosh! Blood stained lab... Almost there~


	11. Chapter 11

I love reading, can't help it, i somehow got distracted by multiple isekai shoujo stories... Gomen! It goes to the point where I look for the raws and light novels of each of them xD some are webtoons while others are manhuas, mangas or manhwas... Although to be honest I can barely understand Japanese xD I cry when there is no furigana for the kanjis ;(

Special thanks to:

Mortisvenom! (I will aim high! To make this as enjoyable as the LN or even more)

Sp00pyGhost! (I'm so happy to hear that ;*)

CaitHawke4Ever! (Yup I couldn't stand that overly Masako but in here she will fight Mai for Naru. In a bold and straight forward way it is what made them friends xD)

On with the story~

* * *

"Taniyama-san!"

"Mai-chan!" Ayami struggled. The Monk however didn't let go of her.

Noriko appeared out of breath. She had run from outside when she noticed the noises. She quickly grabbed Ayami and hugged her until she stopped struggling.

"Takigawa-san. Proceed with the plan"

"... On it" the Monk informed Noriko to prepare, they will be heading towards a hotel.

Noriko nodded and quickly went upstairs. The Monk turned towards the hole. Lin was trying to get down. Ayako and Brown-san were helping him. The Doll like medium had a pale face as she watch nervously.

"This is a well?" Now that he was closer, the Monk got a good look at it.

"It is, from how it looks. It appears to be old" John confirmed.

"To me...it seems this well goes deep into the Earth." She swallowed hard "and at the very bottom the children are unable to leave"

A chill ran down their backs. The air was getting colder.

"Oi, oi. And Jou-chan is down there" it was dark but they could see at least part of her body. Floating slightly on water.

John brought his hands together and started to pray.

"She is unconscious, I will pull her up. Takigawa"

The Monk nodded, he stepped on top of the edge of the well, the difference between the floor and the well was a bit high. The floor reached his back.

Lin used a chair to step while he gave Mai to the monk.

He shivered when the cold water from her clothes touched him. He quickly pull her up and both John and Ayako assisted him to lay her down the floor.

"This is bad." Ayako began "she got two broken rips, she also shows signs of hypothermia"

Bou-san and Lin quickly got off the well.

"Let's call an ambulance-" John began but a sound interrupted him.

"No" her voice was hoarse but the intention was clear. Mai had quickly denied it.

"What are you saying!?" Ayako began but Mai's body began to shine slightly...

"Stand back"

"Dear God" John muttered as he stepped back. Masako's eyes widened.

Lin pulled Ayako away from Mai, he was the only one who didn't step away. Even the Monk had.

Her body arched, a sound of a bone breaking could be heard. It happened in seconds but everyone thought it had taken longer. Her body stopped shinning and it went back with a 'thud' sound.

She rolled to her stomach and began to cough. Tears dripped down but her coughing didn't stop.

Ayako quickly reacted. She had already seen her using that on Noriko. There was no time to be surprised.

"Mai, hold on Mai" she brushed Mai's back repeatedly.

She didn't stopped coughing until a rather strong one made her cough up blood. Lin stepped in, he took on her wrist and checked her pulse.

*Tsk* he picked her up in bridal style and made way to the base.

Ayako was protesting loudly.

"Her body is in shock. Bring her a change of clothes, ice if possible" Lin ordered her hastily.

He laid her on the couch. Took a look at her eyes with a flashlight, then took in her temperature.

'crazy psychics. All of them' he glared at her. His blobs were snuggling her. 'why can't they think before they act'

Ayako slammed open the door. She had a set of clothes and ice bag. Lin went out.

"Is... Is Mai-chan alright?" Noriko asked. She had bags beside her and Ayami in her arms.

He nodded. Just then, John, Masako and Bou-san showed up.

...

/

There was a sliding door. Beyond the porch was a backyard with a pond. It looked like the one in Noriko-san's house... A girl was playing in the backyard.

Mai cleaned her eyes, it was a girl near Ayami's age but she was wearing a kimono. Suddenly a man began to approach her. It talked to her...

'It's dangerous! Don't go with him!'

A woman's cry ran through the house...

"Tomiko! Tomiko!"

The man and girl exchanged a few words, and then the man took the girl's hand and walked off with her.

Don't go! You can't go with him! Mai tried to shout, but no sounds came out. The man walked away as he held onto the girl's hand. They went toward the pond. The girl vanished into the distance.

"Tomiko!"

The woman screamed, running desperately towards the pond...

*Drip* *drip*

Mai blinked, the sound of water drops brought her attention towards a woman and a well...

The woman's teardrops rippled the water's surface.

Mai understood, her own eyes moistened as tears threatened to fall. A hand stopped her from going further. She knew who it was without turning around.

She bit her lips as she turned to glare at him. He smiled sadly and lowered his head in apology. His eyes looked pained. He shook his head, the sadness evident in his face.

Mai brushed the tear from her eye and turned back to look at the woman. She swallowed her anger, she knew why he didn't want her to know but that didn't mean he was forgiven. Even so, she didn't shook his hand away from her shoulder.

Sobbing and whimpering, the woman leaned against the well. She cried out before jumping into the well.

/

The sound of water dripping made her wake up.

*Gasp* she quickly stood up. immediately she regret it. Her head was pounding. She grabbed her head in an attempt to see if pulling her hair out will fix it.

"Mai!" Ayako held her "take it easy!"

Screaming wasn't helping with the pain. She was forcibly sat down. She opened her eyes to glare at whoever it was and was surprised to see pain killers and a bottle of water shown to her face.

She followed the hand that held it and a scary glaring Lin was the one thing she had never thought to see.

Her face lost its color. With shaking hands she swallowed the pills. She was looking like her soul was about to leave her body but even like that she tried to ask...

"Ayami?"

"Bou-san, John and Masako took them away to a hotel" Ayako sighed

"Eh? Is that alright? Wouldn't they be followed?"

"I gave them a charm, Masako confirmed it worked"

"Is that so?" Mai relaxed, her body melting on the couch.

"Yeah... Hey can you believe that brat? When you collapsed. She said that even if you were slightly special. You were no match to her. She said that Naru would prefer her, after all they already went to movies and the like"

Unconsciously her heart throbbed.

"ugh I don't know what her deal is but going to the movies with a jerk like that, isn't my idea of fun"

"Hah! Is that jealousy? Mai are you jealous?" Ayako teased.

"No, seriously. He will probably have a straight up face all the time and will probably look bored out of his mind"

*Pff* Lin restrained his laugh but his shoulders were shaking.

Ayako however admitted she was right. "Then were will you take him?"

"Me? I'm broke so, I would never ask but if I ever did... The library?" Mai tilted her head.

Ayako burst out laughing. "You're so cute, your innocence is so unromantic"

"No surprisingly that may-" Lin was interrupted from saying more. The door from the base was opened with a slam

"Ah! Naru you're back"

"If I didn't come back, how would I be here."

'ah well that was a cruel remark... Wait a minute, are his ears red? Did he catch a cold?'

Suddenly the dream came back to her and she winced.

Naru faced Lin, he didn't pay Mai any mind. "Lin, replay the recording."

"Okay."

Ayako quickly put on the ice bag on Mai's head.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah... I just remembered a strange dream. It was about a kidnapping"

"Kidnapping?" Ayako asked out loud, both Lin and Naru turn to look but Mai didn't notice because the ice bag covered her eyes.

"Yeah, that's what I think. Tomiko was kidnapped, and then her mother jumped into the well to commit suicide. What a vivid dream, right?"

"Did you hit your head?" Ayako giggled. "You're not even a medium so does your dream even count?"

"..."

"Jou-chan you awake?" Bou-san opened the door and company came in too. John and Masako, who were supposed to be guarding Ayami-chan, were also there.

"What about Ayami-chan?" Mai asked.

Bou-san shrugged in response. "Naru said we could come back and leave her with Noriko-san."

"Is that so?" Mai turned to Naru

He sighed but answered the unspoken question "tonight this case will be solved"

"I see" Mai nodded and put the bag of ice right back on her eyes.

"How can you trust him so easily? "

Mai just shrugged her shoulders " I may be dumb, but not that dumb. I know that I can trust him"

"Maa it's good to be young" the Monk teased

"Did you think I was out doing nothing the past few days?" Naru answered to Ayako.

'eh was Naru shy just now?' nah.. just my imagination'

For a moment Ayako had nothing else to say so Bou-san pursued it instead, "Well, let's listen to your strategy and decide whether or not it's good."

"It is pretty simple. We just need to give her, her child back" once again the over confident smile he showed them on the last case was on. It was a sarcastic wry smile but it shut up their doubts.

"Maaa have no idea how are you going to do that but, if you say so and Jou-chan believes you I have nothing to say"

"Ah seriously, if I die Young because of you I will hunt you" Ayako put her hands on her hips in a mighty pose.

"Mai, anyone who wants to go home can leave. I do not want to work with mediums of that caliber"

Mai just shoo shoo him with her lazy hand

"I already said I was going to trust you brat. Seriously what's with that attitude you're not cute at all" Ayako brushed her hair out of her shoulder.

"I said it as well. I'll just trust you. I'll suffer through this again and try to exorcise the ghost." Bou-san confirmed.

John gave his okay with a thumbs up while Masako nodded slowly.

"So what will we be doing?" The Monk asked

Naru instructed them, "As of now, we have enough manpower. The underlying problem is the woman. If we don't bring her out, everything we do will be meaningless."

"How do we bring her out?" Ayako retorted.

"Disperse the children," he said in his sharp voice, "Miko-san, can you make some charms?"

"Of course I can." She pulled out paper and a brush from her purse.

"First, make a significant amount of charms"

"If that's what you want, consider it done" she began scribbling with tremendous speed, no one would look down on her when it comes to charms.

Naru patted John's back, "Perform another exorcism."

"What?!"

"The idea isn't to prevent the ghosts from getting near Ayami-chan. It was to not let the ghosts leave the house in the first place."

"Alrighty"

"It doesn't necessarily need to strong. Just good enough to keep the spirits from leaving and to leave the Demon's Gate open."

" professor What's the Demon's Gate?" Mai asked out loud.

"Located in the northeast quarter, it's the gate in which evil spirits leave through. Originally it's the easiest place to leave, and since the charms will be blocking all other passages of exit, the ghosts that are heading toward the hotel will have to pass through the Demon's Gate, —Bou-san and Miko-san will disperse the spirits leaving the Demon's Gate."

Everyone made an 'i understand face'

'ehhh so professor works?' Mai snickered 'i will use it more often'

"Hey, I understand that we handle the childrens' spirits, but who will be doing the most important exorcism of that woman?" Bou-san asked

"Can it be...Naru, are you doing it?" Except from Mai that was shocked and Lin, everyone asked at the same time.

Naru smirked confidently and softly clapped his hands together. "We're starting."

...

Charms were pasted all over the walls. To prevent the ghosts from leaving through the living room, John stayed in the living room and sprinkled holy water.

Outside, Bou-san and Miko-san had stuck their charms onto the house. There were also charms in the hotel Ayami-chan was staying in to protect her or buy time for the exorcism to finish. They will probably break because there were too many ghost but it was necessary.

Only one place wasn't sealed by charms. The Demon's Gate. And that's where Bou-san and Ayako. are John and Naru were in the living room while Lin looked over the equipment.

Masako had insisted to be present and since Naru couldn't refused her, he ordered Mai to accompany her aka stop her from acting foolishly:

"Mai, the living room will be sort of dangerous. Stay with Hara-san. Things will be troublesome if she gets possessed."

Mai sighed. She let go of her ice bag and made her best to walk without whimpering. Naru raised an eyebrow but paid no mind to it. Lin however was about to mention her incident when she shook her head in denial.

Lin rolled his eyes and turned towards the equipment.

Without delay, John began his prayer. Instantly the surroundings began to make sounds and the fog started to show.

Masako's face was pale and her body trembled uncontrollably.

"Are you okay? Do you want to go back to base?" Mai asked. Her own voice made her headache worse.

Masako shook her head. "No, I'm fine... I'll stay here."

"Is that really alright?"

She nodded "There are two ways to exorcise spirits..." Masako explained, her eyes searching the room. "Cleansing them and removing them. Cleansing them involves talking with the spirit and finding out why they can't cross the bridge. But this is something that only a medium can do." She hid her mouth with her kimono sleeve "Naru's not a medium, but he wants to exorcise the ghost," she continued to explain.

"Exorcise it?"

"Killing it with brute force..." Her eyes sadly looked down "I hope he doesn't kill them, at least not in front of me."

"Trust him" Mai smiled "you wouldn't be here if that was the case"

"But..."

"It's alright, you will see"

"Why are you-" Masako couldn't finish.

A cold layer of air enshrouded the floor, as white, wispy smoke hovered about the floor, encircling the entire room. In the middle a vague, lone figure started to materialize.

The chaos began. The floor distorted, everyone was struggling, John did his best to sprinkle water and stop the pulling of hair and the like.

Mai growled, she was pulled once again towards the well.

"Mai-san!" John tried to help her but had to help Masako instead as she was thrown to him.

This time however Mai began to scold out loud.

"Tanya, Christopher, Matt. Stop pulling my leg. I will punish you" they let go of her and began to ran away.

"Hara-san! What's the situation?!" Naru turned to look at Masako.

"They're running away. The amount of spirits has decreased dramatically... They're leaving the the living room."

The remaining spirits cried as they left. Mai was probably the only one who heard them

The mist in the living room started to dissipate.

Masako abruptly took a deep breath, her blanched face reflecting her fear. She stared at the well. "...She's coming..."

* * *

DundunDunDon!

See you soon! Constructive criticism is appreciated! I'm happy as well if you just write it's good on the reviews. That way I can motivate myself and stop from lazing around xP it will certainly hit my head to keep it up. I tend to say 'i will write tomorrow and end up forgetting' gomene


	12. Chapter 12

Blood lab you are still so far away ;( it makes me roll up on my bed.

Like I said, your reviews are motivation!

On with the story!

Thank you greatly for reading! The faves, reviews and follows! My replies are on the bottom as some has spoilers! XD

* * *

"She's coming!"

Everyone held their breaths. Mai backed away and returned to be on Masako's side. There was a wispy mist coming out of the well, it covered most of the floor.

Drops of water echoed loudly as the figure finally materialized in front of them.

It was an indistinct figure of a woman. Her hair was wrapped up in a bun, and her lanky figure was covered in a kimono. She looked like she might disappear any minute.

Tomiko-san isn't here!" Masako exclaimed. "She's not here anymore!" The figure lowered her head, but didn't respond. "Please understand! Tomiko-san isn't here!" Masako cried out desperately.

The woman slowly lift up her face. Mai instantly put herself in front of Masako, she used her arm to push the medium back but Masako held on to her arm and continued. The woman's eyes were burning with anger.

"Don't do this to this children, they're suffering. They really wish to be with their families"

Masako was pulled but Mai intercepted by calling out to the kids that did it.

"Isaac, Mathew let go of her this instant!"

They obeyed and ran away from the dark spirit. Masako's eyes widened but she couldn't find strength to stand any longer. Her legs gave in and she ungracefully sat down on the floor.

If the situation was a different one, Mai could had sworn that Naru snorted. But she knew that if she were to look away, it was game over.

Little fingers were crawling from the well, they wanted to come out. Another pair and so on until they fully covered the edge of the hole the well was.

The old woman sneered as John tried to put himself in front of the girls. He was thrown away by an invisible force.

"John" Mai call out

"I'm alright!"

Mai nodded, her legs were shaking, the hair on the back of her neck was as up as it could be. She swallowed hard. The headache pounding so hard it was difficult to not whimper but she stood her ground.

She didn't know how messed up she was but if she had to fight, she would. She brought her hands up and made them fists. She took on a fighting stand but the woman's eyes left her's.

Her gloomy eyes swept the floor. They stopped at the black figure near the door. His black attire made his pallid face stand out.

Naru stared back at the woman. His dark eyes were full of confidence.

Mai swallowed, Masako brought both of her hands to cover her face.

Naru raised his right hand... he raised it high, flashing the object in his hand to the ghost. The woman watched Naru's movements intensively.

"Your daughter is here," His voice echoed through the room even if it was said calmly

There was a wooden board cut in the shape of a human in his hand. A spell paper was pasted on it. Once he threw it on the air it spun and the woman opened her eyes wide as she stared at it.

"Take those children...with you as well."

The woman cried out. The wooden figurine spun in the darkness, slowly spinning toward the woman. The blurred trajectory faded into a figure. —The figure of a child.

The child opened her arms and so did her mother. The moment her faded hands touched Tomiko, a white light flashed.

"...!"

Both of them began to shine as a light engulfed them. The children Mai had played with and the rest that had gone out were captured by that light. Their angelic smiles made tears on Mai's eyes.

The light covered the entire room and soon after Tomiko and her mother were gone, they too disappeared into the light.

'everyone, rest in peace' Mai smiled as she used her palms to push her tears away.

A second later the white light dissipated, leaving the dusky room the way it was before it all happened.

Masako stood up. "...They're gone...the spirits have been cleansed...!"

Mai couldn't help but sob she tried to suppress it but she failed. She simply left the living room,

Naru sighed and went after her.

The medium turned to John to inquire on that reaction but the priest just shrugged his shoulders.

...

Mai leaned over the sink of the kitchen. Her eyes burned, she washed her face repeatedly and just when her sobs calmed down. She heard his voice.

"You're an idiot"

"Wow your attempt to console me is so bad that I may laugh" she sniffed

"..." He remained silent.

'was Naru really trying to console me?'

"They're in a better place"

"No Sherlock~" she answered sarcastically.

'yeah he's trying' that alone made a small smile on her lips but her back was to him so he couldn't see.

"It is for a fact that they are gone, what else can I say? This is not my forte" he ruffled his hair and let his hand stay on the back of his neck. He turned to look at his side as he muttered the last part.

"Well try harder, I'm your assistant" Mai brought a hand to her eyes, the tears were stopping.

"..." He growled and continued to mess with his hair. After a moment of silence he stepped closer and patted her head.

Her eyes turned to meet his in surprise.

"Wh-"

"Yush yush, good girl" he smirked

Her face blushed instantly from anger "I'm not a dog!"

She slapped his hand away, the moment she did an electronic current, shot between their hands. Her legs gave in.

She sat on the floor holding her head with both hands. Something had popped up. She had heard it and it hurt.

"Mai... Use this, your nose is bleeding"

She slowly opened her eyes and took the tissue with great care not to touch him.

"What... What has he done to me? Gene did something. I'm sure of it"

"..." Naru narrowed his eyes, there was a complicated look in his face, instead of answering, he asked. "Did you used that again?"

Mai nodded somehow feeling guilty

"Why didn't you tell me? You shouldn't had been there, what if something went wrong?"

"..." Mai remained silent, she closed her eyes to avoid his glare and to try and suppress her headache.

He continued to scold her but after a while he sighed in defeat "What did you use it for?"

She opened her eyes and answered softly. "My... Two of my ribs were broken..."

His eyes widened before a glare once again took over. "When?" His voice held a controlled anger.

"When... The woman..." She swallowed, she was digging her on grave "broke the floor with my back'

He instantly stood up. Walked and turned around, walked some more and then he grabbed the edge of a chair. He opened his hands then grabbed the edge once again.

He was inhaling and exhaling loudly... But he had calmed down.

Mai cowered when his eyes landed on her again. He knelt beside her.

"Lift your arms" that was a direct order, where she to question it she would face his wrath.

Like a soldier, her arms shot up on order. The tissue comically stopping the blood coming from her nose.

He touched her ribs, none where out of place and she didn't flinch when he pressed them. "... Does that mean you have a headache?"

She flinched and avoided his eyes.

If the situation was different she could had blushed but this situation made her feel like she was hanging herself.

She couldn't help but tremble.

His hand landed on her forehead she closed her eyes in fear.

"You're burning"

"Eh?"

"Let's go back to base, you will hear the rest of this later"

'salvation!'

She instantly stood up but a wave of dizziness hit her. Naru's hand grabbed the back of her neck and collar. He steadied her and guided her to the base.

Once the door of the base opened, Lin turned around and smirked at her. His eyes said 'that's what you get for not listening to me' his blobs however where happily bouncing around him.

'I am so freaking dead'

She was pushed towards the couch and she instantly grabbed the ice bad. She thought of making Naru tea but that idea was turned down, she could barely stand. It was better not to push it.

Ayako and Monk returned to the base, both of them looked tired.

Mai smirked, she innocently asked what that figure was and both Ayako and Bou-san gave explanations, saying that it was a paper effigy or a curse doll. By the end Naru was the one that corrected Ayako. He explained the white spells and black spells as well as their uses.

"Human effigies are basically vessels to hold spirits, That human effigy represented Tomiko. That woman thought it was her daughter, and so she believed she found her daughter. That's how she was cleansed." Bou-san continued for Naru.

"Mmm sounds like she was tricked but I heard that you can die if a human effigy that represents you is harmed"

"Correct, it is really dangerous" Bou-san nodded.

Naru left the room with Lin. They were going to call Noriko and Ayami back to the house. Mai smiled to herself she let go of the ice bag.

Monk had commented on how amazing was Naru for being an onmyouji, he had come to that conclusion when Naru had answered his whereabouts when he had left the house. He had answered that he needed Tomiko's birth date and death date to make the human eggy.

Mai shook her head and denied it but she wouldn't argue with them, she just didn't know how she knew. She was exhausted but even so she managed to stand and get to the hallway where Naru was finishing up his call.

"...You can come back anytime. Everything has been solved," he hung up

When he turned around his eyes met Mai's. The anger had subsided and now there was warm emitting from them.

"Naru-chan, are you getting ready to leave?" Bou-san asked

"Yes."

"Oh, Naru?" Ayako asked. "I heard you and Masako are dating. Is it true?"

"Dating?"

"Did you go on a date with her? You know, movies and concerts. Young people sure have it good."

He shot her down with a remark on how they were chatting instead of improving the situation. She also got burned when he remarked he wasn't interested in old women.

After that Only Naru and Mai were left on the hallway, she giggled. "Naru, you don't need to hide it,"

He blinked and then a troublesome looked appeared on his face.

"I don't know what Masako said," he said, avoiding her gaze, "but it's not that kind of relationship. —You're mistaken."

She blinked as he walked away... 'Naru doesn't care if Ayako gets the wrong idea. But, he doesn't want me to get the wrong idea. Is that it?' she flinched, she was thinking too much with a headache.

...

When they were organizing the equipment, Noriko and Ayami came back from the hotel. Naru explained what happened to Noriko and reassured her that everything was ok now.

When Mai was asked when she was leaving by Ayami, Naru answered her that it was tomorrow. Although she looked sad she declared that she would had Mai all to herself that night and Noriko laughed out loud.

...

/

"Gene...hey...what have you done? What's all this? What was that dream from before?... I... Couldn't do this before...what... Why have you done this?"

"I'm sorry. You will get use to it. This will definitely help you... Help both of you. Please accept it"

"But-"

"You will see, you need this"

/

* * *

Oh lalalala oh lalala oh lalala... XD

The clues have been given! Do you know what Mai is now? If not don't worry you will see later.

Is Gene really annoying? I mean, I kinda softened him from what I believe he is like xD

Kallen21: your wish has been granted!

Karibel. : ¡ Aqui esta lo que ansiabas! Esto se pondra mejor xD

Anomex: thank you so much! I try putting myself on their shoes. It's a bit difficult on Naru because he is really calm on the manga and anime while on the LN he has more humanity. Oh my! I always thought of Gene to be the prankster, but he also has this interest in paranormal that may be on par with Naru's. Ups spoiler.

Sp00pyGhost: it wasn't Lin but if you still wish to smack her, go ahead xD

Mortisvenom: thank you so much! I will keep it up :* and Mai tends to be hard on herself since she feels she doesn't need to trouble anyone. But I agree, she shouldn't do it, writing her is hard on the feelings


	13. Chapter 13

Hiiii (stich voice, from lilo & stich)

I'm sorry for the delay, I'm actually going to take the JLPT exam on July 7 so I might not update like I used to, I need to study xD I also thought about making a Japanese one shot story but then again, my knowledge is mostly basic and although I can recognize individual kanjis from n5 to n3 I don't really know how to pronounce them yet... Besides some words contain more than one kanji and it confuses me even with furigana... Geez, gotta fight!

I'm going for the N5 I didn't had the courage to jump to n4... Anyway on with the story!

* * *

Tokyo, Shibuya street. 3 days after the doll house case.

"Uff" Mai emptied a bucket of water. She pulled her long sleeve even higher and grabbed a cleaning rag. With expertise, she quickly cleaned her desk and other stands. Just then Naru called out from his office.

"Mai, tea"

"Coming!"

She quickly finished cleaning. Then she washed her hands and put the pot with water to boil. When she was done preparing the tea, she knocked his door and entered his office on order.

Putting his tea in front, she waited for his 'thanks' but sighed and turned around when he gave no indication of saying it.

"Mai"

"?" She met his eyes then leaned her head in question

"Call Gene"

"... Um" she avoided his eyes and connected her fingers in a nervous manner.

"What?"

"... I haven't recovered from... Last time"

He narrowed his eyes and stood up from his chair, stepping closer to her.

"Explain"

"I... Kinda... Over did it... I still have a headache... And Gene, he is sleeping so to wake him, I..."

She bit her lip, she wasn't sure she could do it, after all, she wasn't used to it

He brought a hand to his chin. "He can sleep?"

"Eh? Why wouldn't he be able to?" Mai blinked 'shouldn't the correct question be-'

The bell from the entrance turned her attention away.

"Hello?"

"Ah Masako! Welcome!" Mai cheerfully greeted her.

"Is Naru here?"

"Yup, would you like some tea?"

"Sure" she brought her kimono sleeve to her mouth. "Could you please let him know that I need to see him?"

"Kay, but fair warning. He's being so busy that he is turning into an oni"

Masako smiled sweetly and leaned her head towards the right.

"Is that so? Should I take him out for a break?"

A sweat dropped behind Mai's head 'famous people are fearless' with a small troubled smile. Mai left to knock on Naru's door.

"Naru-chan, Masako wishes to you"

"I'm busy, tell her to come later"

"Oka-" before Mai could even finish. Masako stepped her head inside Naru's office.

"Actually, I'm here to discuss business"

"..." Naru sighed.

...

Mai put the tea in front of them and stepped aside. Naru was in a bad mood.

"That's how it is. Water has been falling towards people that behaves like a couple. This phenomenon has been occurring for the past 6 months and it is warrantied that is not a prank or made by the living. Your client is a director that is currently making a film on that location" Masako finished her speech and with a lady like manner drank her tea.

"I recommend that they consider relocating the shoot or cancelling the show" he sighed, drinking his own tea.

"Apparently that's not an option, the script specifies this location." She put her tea cup back towards the table.

"That's not my problem" Naru too put his tea cup back on the table but his was empty. It meant that if she had nothing else to said, the conversation was over.

"Ah but you see, this friend of mine has been very good to me, I will love to help him out of it. If possible. Would you please help me with it?"

'ah that look on Naru's face, he doesn't like it...'

"Of course, he will pay you your research fee. It would be great if you could please do me a favor and help him out"

'money doesn't motivate Naru, unless he is interested in the case, he won't take it... Eh? What's with that troublesome look in his eyes?'

"Where's the park?"

Masako grinned, Mai's mouth opened up...

...

"So? This is the park?" Bou-san asked.

"Are you sure there are evil spirits in here?" Ayako looked around and wrinkled her nose.

"Well Shibuya-san did call us for that reason" John awkwardly smiled

"Well I for sure won't like to do an exorcism here, it will be too weird" Bou-san looked around towards the people walking by.

"Mph! I would like to refrain as well. It will be difficult to concentrate" Ayako brushed her hair off her shoulder.

"What for? you always fail anyway"

'and so they began' Mai shook her head and instantly regret it. She winced when her head throbbed.. pulling out her thermo, she served herself tea.

Naru stepped beside her "do you feel anything?"

"Can't say. I'm so mess up I don't even know what color I'm wearing" she put a pill on her mouth and quickly swallowed it with tea.

"Is that a secondary effect as well?" Naru took her thermo out of her hands and took the top of it, to serve himself tea.

"Well... I don't know. I just know it's temporary"

"How useless"

"You don't even know what I am. You can't say that. And just so you know I'm human. I am alive as well "

"That is for a fact, a different entity wouldn't be so stupid"

"Why youuu" Mai stepped forward, holding a fist up in the air.

"Ah, I'm sorry for the delay" Masako called out. "The photoshoot took longer than expected"

"Well don't worry about it, other than those two sharing an indirect kiss nothing else happened" Ayako teased.

"Eh? When was that?" Mai panicked

Naru's eyes widened but he saved face with his poker face.

"Just now Jou-chan. Were you so distracted that you didn't noticed it?" He pointed at her tea but she didn't get it and leaned her head in question.

"You can't be so dense-" Before Bou-san could tease her further Masako cut in.

"If you are done discussing such a childish matter, I would like to put an end to this phenomenon. As I don't have time to loose like you two do." She smiled sweetly to the grown ups.

"Do you feel anything Hara-san?" John asked, trying to melt the ice that surrounded the medium.

"I do, it's not malicious but I'm sure it is the cause of this" she recovered her composure and hid her mouth with her kimono sleeve.

".."

"Well the phenomenon only happens to couples. I wonder why would that be?" Mai asked, forgetting to question further on the indirect kiss.

"Well you know what they say. Pour water on them to break them up"

"Ah that's a good one" Mai laughed to what the Monk had said.

"We don't know for sure if it's a psychic phenomenon yet"Naru rolled his eyes

"Ah you're right, but we're here to find out isn't it" Monk teased he could tell Naru was in a bad mood.

"That's the problem. The phenomenon only occurs under that particular condition. That means we need to make a plan" Masako brought the attention to her.

... ... ...

"Monk.. we don't look like a couple. You seem more like my brother" Mai pouted.

"Are you bro-zoning me?" Monk almost spilled his drink

"Well..." Mai drank her juice that Bou-san bought

"Ah I see how it is. This may be part of your job but you would rather be with a younger guy, wouldn't you?" He smirked.

"I won't lie, but I bet Naru wouldn't be as nice as you are" she smiled.

"Fair enough"

They both turned to look around. Ayako was playing catch the frisbee with John a bit to the right.

"Poor guy, he is made to chase that thing all over the place"

"Is that jelly Monk? Would you rather be playing with them than talking with me?"

"No way, and miss how Naru-chan is giving Masako the cold shoulder? Never!"

Mai laughed "that's how Naru is, he can't even let go of his research papers"

"By the way, I'm surprised he accepted a case like this in the first place" he crossed his arms as if to make a point.

"I know! I was surprised too" she clapped her hands.

... ... ...

"It looks like Mai-san's team is having a good time." Masako smiled in success.

"... Is there a specific spot for this phenomenon to happen?"

"Not that I am aware of"

"Then maybe it is a jibakurei, the spirit of the land?" He muttered out loud.

"Ah Naru, it's coming! Right over there!" She stood up and signed, then she ran.

...

"Guess what? Keiko told me to take a picture of Naru and send it to her, but I told her that a ghost may be in it as well and she couldn't stop crying for a day"

"Hahahaha you would had ended up taking the scariest photo on history!" Bou-san laughed out loud. Slapping his knee every now and then. Suddenly a black cat jumped from the tree and on to the bench where Mai was.

She screamed and held to the monk for dear life. He hugged her back on instinct but then smirked at her.

Unknown to them, both Naru and Masako were running towards them. Naru stopped by the sight of them but Masako continued.

Suddenly from the sky, water fell on both Mai and the Monk. They quickly separated and stood up to shake the water off.

...

"The spirit is over there, behind Mai. It's a female in her early twenties-" she suddenly felt to the floor.

"Hara-san?" Naru raised his voice. Both Ayako and Mai's team gathered around them.

"What happened?" Ayako asked

"Not sure, she just collapsed"

"Mmm man but that phenomenon... it was like a bucket of water and it was so cold" Monk complained while taking off his sweater.

"Hehehehe I'm happy to see your miss fortune" Masako said a creepy voice.

"Wh-what?" Mai asked.

"The spirit possessed her. This is perfect let's listen to what it has to say. Are you the one who has been pouring water over people here?"

"Yes. Huhuhu. I hope they'll catch a cold, get bronchitis and suffer from it" she had a posture of an evil queen.

"Why would you wish that?"

With dramatically movements she told them how her ex was two timing her and how she had tried to kill herself but died because of a cat.

By halfway in the story Naru lost interest, while Mai and Ayako burned from anger.

Naru sighed, "so, why do you pour water on people?"

"I was so upset that I confronted him in front of the woman and he poured a bottle of water on me"

Both Mai and Ayako shouted "what an idiot/jerk"

"When I had given up on suicide, a cat jumped out of nowhere and I hit my head pretty bad and died" the spirit in Masako's body covered her face in shame.

"Then? Why didn't you hunt him and take your revenge on him?" Ayako asked while crossing her arms.

"I tried. He was too insensitive to notice. I poured water on to his apartment and he kept moving on thinking it was the place fault. I spent a month standing on his shoulder and he didn't even felt it. I dyed his clothes on blood but he liked red so he kept them"

Everyone except Naru face palmed.

"So as a stress reliever, I began to hunt the couples that passed through our meeting place" she snapped her fingers and a scream could be heard not so far from there.

"But if that's the case, you will be the one being hated! It's not fair! I don't know if it may convince you or not but you're the only one who will suffer from this." Mai gripped her skirt.

"That's right, if you don't stop, you won't be able to rest" Monk sighed

"That jerk is not worth suffering for" Ayako had her hands on her hips.

"That's right, you can rest happily on the other side" John smiled.

"You knew this already, isn't that right?" Naru asked

"Yeah... But what are you guys... A psychic otaku club?" But before they could answer. Masako exclaimed pointing her finger towards a man that was walking in a desolated place. "It's him! He was the two timing jerk!"

"Oh it's on!" Mai stood up from where she had knelt beside Masako. Both Ayako and Monk high five her hands as she ran towards the man. She turned around and waved to John.

He nodded and threw the frisbee towards her direction. It landed on the man's feet. Naru raised an eyebrow.

"Ah sorry... Could you- huh!?" Mai stepped back.

The man picked up the frisbee and held it to her "is this yours?"

"You... Is she real?" She pointed towards his left.

Before he could ask what was real. Bou-san came in.

"Mai, why are you taking so- oh sh*t! " He fell down for a more impacting effect and pointed at his left

"Kyaaah!" Ayako screamed on the other side from where Mai and Monk were. She pointed towards the same place.

John came running and she held to him. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"Ghost! A ghost is clinging to him!"

"Eh? I don't see anything?" John panicked.

The mad was freaking out turning around to look himself over.

"It's true it's a woman!" Ayako cried

"Huh? Isn't that Masako Hara? The famous medium!" Mai called out.

The man quickly turned to his back and standing beside him was Masako. A bottle of water in her hand while a creepy smile made it to her lips.

"You disgust me" she poured the water on his head. And he knelt down on the floor. That was the same line he had told her.

Mutterings on and on "it's you" then like a manic ran away saying"sorry" out loud.

"Well done everyone!" Mai clapped.

Naru sighed but she knew the smirk he had seconds ago wasn't for show.

"Thank you everyone! I feel so much better! I will be going now" the spirit left Masako's body and began to glow. They cheered at her until she disappeared.

Masako regained consciousness. They told her what happened and left the site towards the office.

...

SPR

"Naru how about I invite you to dinner? It's a thanks for today" she clinged to his arm.

"..." He sighed and began to put on his coat

'no way!' everyone screamed inside but Monk recovered when he turned to Mai. She was pouting

"Ne, Jou-chan. Let's continue our date! I will take you out to the movies"

"Eh? "...Bou-san, are you treating me?"

"Of course. I just got my payment from the previous case, so now I'm rich." He made the ok sign.

"I'll go" Mai had spark on her eyes. Even Naru turned to watch her. Masako narrowed her eyes but didn't say anything.

"I didn't realize you were into loli," Ayako remarked.

"Hey! My first date! Don't ruin it!" Mai stepped before Monk.

"Is that so? I will take you to eat too" Bou-san petted her head.

She turned around and hugged him. "I love you. You're the best"

Naru's eyes narrowed to him.

"Gross" Ayako's nose wrinkled up.

"You're just jealous that I have a date, and you don't" Monk teased.

. "Okay then! John, we're going on a date!" She grabbed John's hand

"Eh? M-...me?" John asked nervously.

"Right. I'll treat you! Let's go!" She took him out and Monk and Mai quickly followed.

Mai didn't even turned to say goodbye from her excitement. She simply picked her stuff up and held to the Monk's arm

Naru's hand became a fist but quickly left it go. He had no reason to stop her.

"Oy I can give you a ride to the movies old hag" Monk shouted.

"Who are you calling an old hag? Pervert!" She threw her purse at him but dragged John to the car, once inside everyone high five each other before turning to look behind.

Naru had a bad mood, he didn't help her down the stairs nor opened her door to the taxi. He just entered. It was weird since he always did it, towards Mai, Ayako and Masako equally, when they were on a case.

"Hey, Mai? Did Masako just use Naru's weak spot?" Monk covered his mouth

"Weak spot? Would Naru have one?" She shook her head

"...But, if that wasn't because of a weakness she knew, then what was that about?" Ayako too covered her mouth

"Mai, I've always wanted to ask this," Bou-san lowered his voice. "Is Naru really the director here?"

"...What are you talking about. Of course he is."

"So there aren't any other superiors then?"

"No." She turned around and sat properly "is it, because of how much the cameras are worth?"

"That and the building itself"

Ayako spoke as realization hit her. "When you put it that way, this is located on Shibuya Street, it's a new building, and it's very spacious..."

John murmured absently, "Could it be a patron?"

Everyone turned to look at him, Mai blushed. He continued to explain " like in Western society. Parapsychology isn't a recognized field yet, so it's quite common for a research institute to be supported by a patron, such as a financial group or a donation from a parapsychology professor."

"John... About that," Bou-san cautioned him. Everyone else relaxed

"What?"

"Be careful with your Japanese. Patron means something different in Japan."

"...Huh?"

."but Maybe he really does have someone who supports him financially, and that person is Masako's father or something along those lines."

"Ah, so then, he wouldn't be able to reject Hara-san's offer," John concluded.

"Right."

"There's also another possibility... Naru could be their leader." Ayako commented.

"Whatever it is, let's go! The movies will start!" Mai put on her seatbelt.

"As you wish ojou-sama"

And so they went to enjoy their double date leaving a confused Lin alone in the office.

* * *

In Japan patron is a person that financially supports support someone in exchange for s*x

Man freaking long! Um this is mostly manga. And had a bit of the anime.

Special thanks for the reviews! Faves and and follows.

Kallen21: ;D here *giggles*

CaitHawke4Ever: it was Lin who made the effigy when Mai had the psychic dream xD. You're right Gene is passing on his legacy but... DundunDunDon! He can do it because of what Mai is capable of doing. However great power has consequences blood stained lab~ Naru does say he has no special relationship with Masako on the LN Wikipedia also states that Mai was Naru's love interest xD

Karibel. : oh si~ mujajaja. Lo que viene~

Mortisvenom: believe me that I want to jump so bad it is hard to keep me in check xD and is mostly Mai the dense one. It's a must for the spices to come.

Sp00pyGhost: thank yous! Yeah they left her off the hook for now.


	14. Chapter 14

Hi~ Anime-addict-fan here! I greatly appreciate the support with the reviews! I will do my best to update on my breaks from the intensive studying I'm about to take. I actually have finished the story in my head and I can't wait to share with you what I have planned! Muahahahah seriously, man I'm dying to write it but! Life is Life, gotta take it step by step.

I hope everyone has taken notice of the hints I gave you, because they're more to come! After all this is not even halfway through. My spices are yet to be added, I will smoothly mix them so it won't burn you when they come out. I believe this is a fair warning. This is my version after all muahahahah~ *coughing* ah~~ on with the story! *Hides evil smirk with hand*

* * *

"Ugh" Naru put his black notebook away and massaged the bridge of his nose.

"Tea, Naru?"

"Please" he let a sigh pass his lips and Mai couldn't help but let a sweat drop fall behind her head. They just had an interview with some teenagers that claimed her classmate has been possessed by a fox.

"It's weird..." Mai began but Naru just drank his tea.

She rolled her eyes at the 'i could care less about the thing you want to talk' face. Even so she continued. "They weren't lying"

He sighed "I will rather not waste my time with another, attention seeker"

Mai sighed as well. She had grabbed the girls information just in case anyone else would want to take it, but she knew that Naru was in that mood because they had taken him away from his precious map.

"Well if that isn't the case, we may hear from her again. One way or another." She pulled out a plastic bag out of her bag pack."want some cookies?"

"No, an idiot like you doesn't know how to measure the amount of sugar. I can't believe I even tried one last time"

"Excuse me! I need them to be super sweet otherwise they won't work" Mai put her hands in her hips.

He raised an eyebrow. Just then Lin got out of his office, and was about to enter the kitchen when he was stopped by Naru's insensitive reply.

"To get fatter than you are now?"

The cookie she had in her hand was crushed by her strength. "I'm sorry did you just-"

Lin instantly stood between. The color from his face had drained and his blobs were hiding behind him. Shaking in terror. Mai however had the sweetest smile on and if her charming point on her hand didn't show (angry veins) Lin would had been fooled.

"Taniyama-san..." Lin had interrupted her but he didn't know what to say.

"It's alright, ne~ Naru would you be so kind to repeat what you just said?" She nearly sang the words out.

Naru smirked and was about to open his mouth when the bell from the door rang.

*Tch* she clicked her tongue, and turned to welcome the guest. It was another teenager wearing the uniform of the same highschool than the one from before.

Lin automatically disappeared back to his office. The cold sweat however still ran through his back.

The tall stoic man turned to look at his shiki. It was because of them, why did they reacted that way. Lin had already met terrifying women, specially one of his co-workers and the most they did was flinch. He sighed and shook his hands before typing in his computer. He will pretend it never happened...

By the end of the day, Lin catched an unusual sight. His shiki were snuggling and purring around her. She held her hand to one, and this one snuggled between her fingers. It slid up and down, passing through the spaces without issue. Just like a small coin but this one, was a tennis ball size blob that seemed to melt.

Lin blinked twice. The paper he had fell down from his hand.

"Ah Lin-san! I'm sorry. I won't do it again!" Mai bowed and picked her stuff up, bowed again and left for the day.

Once she was out. Lin's expression suddenly turned serious. His blobs straightened up and returned to him. He picked the paper up and with a new aura surrounding him, he went back to his office.

...

The next day, Mai turned to look at her desk. She had 3 request from the same highschool.

"Yuasa High School. It is an all girls private high school near Tokyo" she muttered out loud.

"Mai, tea" her boss called out.

"Coming!"

When she returned Naru was sitting on the couch. She set his cup in front of him.

"They keep piling up" she pointed towards her desk.

"Well, it is your job to clean the dust up"

"That's not what I meant and you know it"

"Just throw them out. I won't take them"

"They're from the same high school"

"I don't care" Naru crossed his legs and opened a book.

*Ring* once again, the bell from the door, interrupted their conversation.

"Yo~ Mai-chan! How are you doing?" A male voice called out.

She blinked twice. She had unconsciously stepped closer to Naru.

"Yo~ Naru-chan! Long time no see"

"Ah Bou-san! A second there I couldn't recognize you. Is that your band outfit?" Mai took his hat off and tried to put it on. But it covered her eyes.

His outfit was a Black hat, black sunglasses, and a hot pink t-shirt that he was wearing beneath his coat.

"Yup! Look, here's my bass guitar" he pointed it out

She put his hat away and leaned her head to the right. "You don't sing?"

"Not much, I thought I told you on our date last week. I'm a bass player. Our back up band just had a concert"

"Ah gomen! I was in a daze after the movie" she scratched her head.

"Well that will explain why you said yes to a second date" he smirked.

"No sir! That just there is a big fat lie" Mai put her hands on her hips and slightly glared at him.

"Eh? Are you against it?" The Monk looked shocked.

"If you aren't aware. My office is not a coffee shop." Naru closed the book he was trying to read. Interrupting their conversation.

"Ah. That's right, the reason I'm here is because of a case"

Naru raised an eyebrow.

"I mean it. It sounds like a complicated case, so I thought I'd borrow your knowledge." Bou-san clarified what he meant.

Mai put the ice coffee that the Monk had asked in front of him and took a seat next to Naru. She had given him tea.

"Actually—this a request from a fan of my band... " He stopped to get some air but continued his announcement like a TV newsman. "It's a request from one of my fans, Taka. She's a high school student, and there are some weird things happening at her school. I have a bad feeling about it." He drank some coffee.

"That girl said that there's a desk in her room that's cursed. In the past three months, the people who've sat in that desk all had accidents."

At first Naru told him it sounded like cliche but the Monk went on in detail. He mentioned that 4 girls were dragged by a train in the same way and 3 had the same injuries. While the other one had slight injuries.

Naru's hard gaze showed that he was deep in thought.

"And that's not all. One of the girl's teacher used an art prep room, but then a ghost showed up and the teacher was sent to the hospital. He's still vomiting blood, but no one knows why."

"Wow, that's strange" Mai rubbed her arms.

"You think so? There seems to be a lot of strange incidents happening at that school. It's not just a simple ghost story. There seems to be other accidents and illnesses going on in ther school. That girl also said..."

Before he continued Mai stood up. She took her papers from her desk... "Nee Bou-san...Is the school 'Yuasa High School'...?"

The monk looked back at her in surprise. "What...? It is Yuasa High School. How did you know?"

"We got 3 request yesterday" she showed them up in the air.

Bou-san snatched the piece of paper. "This request..."

"Naru rejected them, but I took their contact information in case you or John wanted to help." She answered him before he could ask

"There's no way this could be a coincidence," Bou-san declared.

Naru didn't respond, he was thinking hard.

Just then, the door opened and a guest walked in. He bowed and presented Mai his business card. As he introduced himself.

" I am Noboru Mikami, principal of private school: 'Yuasa High School'" he bowed to Naru and Bou-san "There have been a number of strange incidents happening at my school, so I was wondering if I could request an investigation."

* * *

Ouch this was short. I had to cut it, otherwise it would had felt rushed. Specially to what I will add. Remember In my version I some times jump events so I highly recommend to read the LN just in case you wish to get more details. I will try to update this week but I can't promise I'm doing this on breaks so they may be short. Gomen!

Now reviews time~ we got a new record! 8 review on the last chapter! I'm so happy! Thank you so much!

ShotaroxPhillip: I will do my best to pass it! Thank you so much :*

Mortisvenom: jelly is the best dessert! Don't worry about it. Masako will get eaten by guilt and it will be all thanks to Mai~ buahaha

Karibel. : perdon! Culpo a skip beat por dejar estos suspensos xD la espera continua...

Sp00pyGhost: I believe Lin would actually like going to the movies if it was one where the revenge was awesome. Like John wick.

CaitHawke4Ever: not much just a bit but it had hints! Yup Masako will get it. In the most beautiful way and it is actually painful. Through kindness. Guilt is horrible.

Nagisa akabane: here it is! Thank you for reading! I'm happy you are loving it! :* Wow your name got cut. I had to separate it

Anomex: OMG thank you so much! I'm super happy you are loving it! I'm having a great time writing it and correct! Although I mix both I intent to make Masako different. Not out of character but enough to make her stand out. A slight but good antagonist. Believe me when I read your comment I literally bounced from joy! I re-read it like 10 times and couldn't contain my smile! Thank you greatly! I appreciate the support! (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))


	15. Chapter 15

Hello~ this chapter is not my attempt to escape from studying. Pff please, it is definitely not. I am properly studying. *Looks away*

Ok! The truth is... I'm dying to write this freaking story and I am having a hard time concentrating. Therefore this will be enough to satisfy me xD

* * *

After hearing his request, both Naru and Bou-san accepted to go to the school in order to get more information from both the staff and the students.

And so on Monday "Shibuya Psychic Research" and Bou-san represented separate entities.

The school was a typical one. It wasn't old, but it wasn't new either. It wasn't wide, but it wasn't narrow either. There was a part of an adjacent building that was being taken down as it was rotting away.

When they arrived at the principal's office, Mikami-san was waiting for them and someone was next to him. Naru introduced himself and he introduced Mai and Bou-san with a "this is my assistant" line. Lin on the other hand was out, looking for any other information he could get his hands on

"Thank you for coming" the principal began. "This is our student advisor, Yoshino-kun. He helps the students. If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask."

The principal introduced them to a middle-aged teacher.

"Nice to meet you." He bowed lightly. His bad complexion made him appear nervous. "Since you've requested it, I have prepared a small conference room for you to use. You can use that room as your base. If you need anything else, feel free to ask me."

The principal nodded and added. "I've informed the students and teachers about this and told them they could see you after school in that room. But I don't know how many people will come."he walked to the door and held it open for them. "Feel free to investigate the school however way you want. You can do whatever you believe to be convenient here. I give my best regards to you,"

Bowing slightly Naru answered with confidence as he went out of the office. "You can leave it to us, sir"

Yoshino-sensei guided them through the school. Then he lead them to the room designated as their base.

"Here it is," the teacher announced while he opened the door. Just when everyone stepped inside, he turned to look at Naru.

"You said you were the leader, correct?"

Naru nodded and came closer. an uneasy expression appeared on the teacher's face.

"Well...I also have something to talk to you about."

"Tell me the details," Naru said. His voice was calm

Yoshino-sensei looked back at him, the lines on his face reflecting his uneasiness.

"...Well, the thing I've wanted to talk about was..."

Naru nodded once again. He felt the teacher insecureness through his voice.

"We will protect our client's privacy. You don't need to hide anything from us. By all means, please tell us the details."

Yoshino-sensei nodded. His forehead was covered in sweat.

"Um... I hear knocking sounds at night."

"Does this happen in your house?"

"Yes, at first it was. It's a soft sound, but I woke up anyway even though I'm a heavy sleeper. It's a knocking sound on the windows and doors... And then when I checked it out..."

Yoshino-sensei became hesitant. Naru silently prompted him to continue.

"Nobody was there. I looked through the curtains and saw a hand knocking on the door. A thin, white, feminine hand. After I see it, the hand stops and the sound is gone. At first I thought I was just seeing things, but then the knocking goes on every night..." He began to tremble slightly. " It's the same wherever I go. Whether it's in the bar, or at midnight, or just in the vicinity, I always hear that knocking sound. If I don't open the door or window, then it just keeps knocking until the morning. ...Recently I haven't been getting enough sleep." He tried to control his trembling hands by grabbing them tightly.

Naru wrote on his notebook " does anyone else hear this sound?"

"Yes. My family hears it too, but they don't really care."

Naru nodded and looked at the monk "Bou-san, make some mantras." After saying that, he turned to face Yoshino-sensei.

"We will give you a cleansing tag to seal off the evil spirit. Never open the window or door at night. And please refrain from walking by yourself at night. The knocking sounds may continue, but don't worry. ...We will have to investigate more."

"...Okay." he bowed and took the mantras before leaving through the door with a refreshing smile on his face.

"...That was sudden. What do we do now?" Bou-san asked.

Naru shrugged and looked at his watch. "If we wait, class will end soon," Naru replied. "We can let the students come in and tell us about the incidents. It's almost the end of the day."

...

The first group to come was the same that claimed her friend was possessed by a fox. This time however Naru asked for more details and they answered instantly.

"You said she was possessed by a fox spirit. Why do you think so?"

""It's because...she said, 'I am Oinari-san's servant, the white fox'. And she started acting strange after we played Kokkuri-san last month."

Naru narrowed his eyes. "...Okay. Where did you do Kokkuri-san?"

"In the classroom. First year, room three."

Naru looked up at the rough map of the school, which was on the board. "Please write down your friend's name and contact number. I will investigate this throughly."

And so they left.

Mai set a tea cup in front of Naru and just when he was about to open his mouth, another group of girls entered the base.

...

"Your request regards a...poltergeist in a classroom," Naru stated.

"Yes...erm, about that." The girl started nervously...

In the track and field team, strange things happen in the dressing room. Lockers are toppled over, and equipment get scattered all over the floor.

"Then our equipment stopped working too"

Naru asked if they thought that someone was trying to sabotage them and they answered that they thought at it first.

"Of course, we thought someone was just up to mischief. We changed the key to the locker room. But there was nothing wrong with the key. One night, we even stayed by the locker room to catch the culprit, but no one came."

"I see. Yes, that is strange." The other student nodded in agreement.

"But when we looked away for a moment, the shot puts, which were in boxes, were lined up perfectly beside each other on the floor."

And so they left and another group came in. Although Bou-san and Mai began to feel this to be tedious, Naru persistently questioned the people who entered.

...

"There's a 'closed warehouse' in the gym. Several years ago, the caretaker of the warehouse died. Since then, there are rumors that strange things have been happening there."

another one...

...

"Ei-chan is hospitalized now. After we did Kimodameshi together, ghosts of children have been showing up at her desk. After a few days, Ei-chan had to go the hospital because there was a puncture in her stomach." A girl called out her friend's incident

"Eh?" Mai blinked and muttered loudly...

" It's true. She would suddenly feel frozen in the middle of class, and when she looked down, she'd feel something touching her stomach. So...when she bent down and looked into her desk, she'd see a hand stretching out, massaging her stomach."

Mai shivered.

...

Finally, Bou-san's fan came in. One of the seats in her class is cursed. The last person who sat there was dragged by a train.

After the introduction was made and an explanation of the Monk's band name. Naru asked:

"Is the person involved in that accident here today?"

"She's here." Takahashi-san indicated a girl in the back.

"I'm the second person to get in an accident, but..." She swallowed hard "I wanted to say the story back then, but," the girl hesitated for a moment. "It happened when I tried to get off the train. Well, I was getting out of the train, right? As I was leaving the train, someone tugged my arm. It was really forceful. My arm got stuck in the door, and the train started moving, so I ran to keep up with it. There was nothing else I could do, right? Anyway, I fell and was dragged along the platform. This went on for five meters before the train stopped."

"Did anyone see you get dragged by the train?"

"About that."

Everyone turned to look at the girl.

"There weren't many passengers on the train that day. No one was near the door when my arm got stuck."

Naru scribbled down some notes. "What time was it?" She reported the time the incident happened, as well as the situation of the other victims. He asked if they knew why that happened and they didn't know.

"...I see. Thank you." He shut his binder with a slam. Then Naru turned around to face Bou-san.

"I want to see the desk."

"Ah, well, I'll show it to you." Takahashi-san's hand shot up into the air. The girls brought them to Takahashi-san's classroom. It was classroom 2-5. The classroom was on the second floor in the south wing of the school. The cursed desk was near the window.

"Over there." After she said that, Naru walked over to the desk. As he touched the desk, his dark eyes narrowed.

'mmm?' Mai could had swear a sound came from his fingers. Shaking her head she listened to the rest of the conversation.

"Is anyone sitting here now?"

Takahashi-san shook her head. "Nope. The last person who sat there is in the hospital now."

"Was the desk ever moved?"

"No, it has always been over there."

Naru was contemplating. After a while, he looked satisfied and left the desk.

...

Two teachers were waiting in the meeting room when they returned. One teacher said he saw ghosts in the car mirror when he drove.. The other said that he felt like someone was following him even though no one was. In addition, the two said they often heard eerie sounds.

Mai turned to look out the window... 'are they really ghost here?'

When the teachers left the silence was interrupted by Bou-san

"...There's no way this is happening. Just thinking of exorcising them all by myself makes me dizzy. Geez." He let out an exaggerated sigh and then looked at Naru. "Naru-chan, can you think of a one-time solution of exorcising all the evil spirits here?"

"Blow up the school and all the people involved," Naru murmured in an irritated tone.

Pfft Mai tried to suppress her laugh but she failed and Naru turned to her with an icy glare.

"Cut it off...I'm not so sure of the implications here. However, this doesn't look good. Reinforcements will be necessary."

"Sorry" she put a cup of tea for him as an apology. His mood didn't improved but she was nearly off the hook.

Bou-san's tone was sarcastic as he spoke to an aggravated Naru: "Are you calling Masako too?"

His face turned sour as he had to swallow something he didn't like.

"Mai, what do you think of this place?"

"Mmm? You're asking me?"

"Just answer the question" it took him a second to refrain from cursing out loud. But she understood his intention.

She sighed. Put her cup of tea away and closed her eyes. She blinked, the building was completely transparent... Some purple spots could be seen and then Gene was beside her... "It's a-" he was cut off.

"Mai" Naru held her in his arms. She had fallen off from her chair.

"N-Naru? " She felt so tired. How did she ended up this way? No it's better to ask how on Earth did she saw the whole building? She just wanted to concentrate on her surroundings...

A cold towel was pushed to her nose. She was bleeding, 'great' sighing, she took the towel from the Monk that was looking at her worriedly.

"I'm alright" she allowed Naru to guide her on a sitting position.

"I have no idea what those things are, but they are a lot of them here"

It was Naru's turn to sigh.

"I will call Lin, he will call the others. Go rest"

"I'm fine"

"Just go home , we are done for today. We will come back tomorrow and continue to investigate when everyone is here"

"Ok" she took the Monk's hand and stood up. After a second to compose herself she took out a cookie and began to eat it as she left.

"How can she eat something with a bloody nose? What on Earth is she?" Bou-san covered his mouth with his hand.

"An idiot, must likely"

* * *

Thanks for the reviews, faves and follows! Slight changes... The build up of the story was too heavy to change so I kinda summarized it. With a different view! Don't worry it will begin to change later.

Karibel. : creo que esta vez El suspenso es menor, despues va a ser super mayor xD

CaitHawke4Ever: it is! I'm Planning to make the teacher a bit more crazy ;)

Kallen21: I can't wait to write it! T-T

Sp00pyGhost: thank yous! I received the love! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)3､`)


	16. Chapter 16

Oh wow, look at me here... Playing videogames and writing instead of studying. It seems I like the pressure of studying under short time, does that make me a masochist?

Don't answer that. I know the truth deep down in my heart.

Let's go then! The story must change!

* * *

The next day, everyone was present. And by everyone we mean Naru, Lin-san, Bou-san, Masako, Ayako, Mai and John.

Naru explained what was going on as soon as they gathered on the small conference room.

" .Just try to exorcise as many as possible, and if that's ineffective we'll think of another plan."

He passed a memo to both John and Bou-san. It had the cursed desk location and details on the victims.

"So far this one is the hardest. John and Bou-san, start there, okay?"

They both nodded, the order to try and exorcise any spirit from the desk was very clear in their minds.

"And now, Hara-san." He turned to the kimono girl.

"Please just call me by my first name, Masako. I don't mind." She hid her smile with her sleeve.

'Always making that request.'

Mai spilled the tea she was drinking and turned to glare at Gene who had whispered those words to her ear.

Everyone turned to look at her and both Ayako and Monk began their teasing attacks

"Jealous Mai?" Ayako started "why? Isn't Naru the only one that calls you by name?"

Mai blushed, as she frantically cleaned her mess.

"Jou-chan, are you blushing?"

Mai turned to glare at them, then back to Gene. She was about to open her mouth, when Gene took possession of her body.

Her trade's mark smirk was directed to Naru and his eyes widened in understanding. Masako however narrowed her eyes.

"Taniyama-san? Somehow, you look different?" The doll like girl made a sour face. She was unable to describe it, she was so in to it, that she didn't pay attention to the name calling matter anymore.

"Ah", Gene looked away slightly. Then a lighting bulb turned on in his head. "Don't worry, it's just my spirit guide. He comes and goes, you may feel him often"

The girl leaned her head to the right. "Is that so? Why can't I see him?"

"He doesn't like to be seen by others" Gene answered and turned to Naru. He raised an eyebrow. 'your mess not mine, fix it' his face conveyed

"Wait, why does Jou-chan has a spirit guide?"

"Since when and how did you get one?"

"Just recently, um cause I needed one? He came to me?* Gene wavered in his replies. He tried to answer the Monk and Miko but it didn't seem to work.

"That doesn't sound right Jou-chan, spirit guides are no joke. But then again, we are taking about you"

"Ahahaha" a sweat drop could be seen behind her head.

"Seriously girl, what else do you have? Laser beams?" Ayako sighed in defeat.

"No way" Gene waved Mai's hand in denial.

Lin on the other hand was looking at Mai with narrowed eyes. 'was he trying to see him?' he panicked. Gene once again turned to Naru for help but he merely smirked back at him with a face that said 'that's for my tea'

Rolling his eyes he gave up. He left Mai's body. 'you're on your own idiot scientist'

Blinking, Mai returned to herself. "What-"

Naru sighed. Maybe missing the opportunity to talk to his brother was going to cost him a lot.

"Hara-san Please take a look around the school. For the time being, perform an exorcism in the art preparation room. Afterwards, do the same thing for the seat that's causing accidents and for the locker room in the track and field team. Matsuzaki-san, please accompany her. If you encounter any spirits, please exorcise them."

The both of them nodded. Then Naru took out some receivers and lined them up on the table.

"Please take one. Here, Mai will be able to receive information. As long as you are on school grounds, the signal will get through"

"Ok... Are you going out again?" Mai asked. The rest simply picked the device up.

"Correct, I will continue to investigate with Lin" Naru took one as well.

"I see. I will organize the information from yesterday and let you know if something else comes up" she made the peace sign.

Naru ignored her and went out with Lin, the rest quickly turned to their task, but Masako had pulled her nose up, on a mighty manner as she left with a 'hmph!' sound.

Without really understanding Mai leaned her head to the right. 'did Gene said or did something?' if that was the case, she may need to have a 'proper' talk with him. 'Proper' putting it lightly.

...

An hour later, the door of the conference room opened. It was the Monk's fan, Takahashi-san.

She apologized for scaring Mai and began a friendly conversation with her. Unexpectedly, she said something that got Mai's attention.

"Seriously, what's wrong with this school. Must be because it's a really haunted school. Curses, ghosts, and psychic powers. If an UFO comes along..."

"Huh? What do you mean by psychic powers?"

"Ah... That..." Takahashi-san quickly explained the matter.

...

"Naru, can you hear me?" Mai tried the device.

"What's wrong?"

"There's something you should hear. It's called the Kansai panic"

"It better be worth it" he hung up.

'what a jerk! Just wait. I will freaking get you back for treating me like an idiot' Mai smiled, her evil intentions were written on her face.

Takahashi-san could only smile but she had a sweat drop behind her head.

...

"So? The Kansai panic is?"

"Right" Takahashi-san cleared her voice and began to explain."there's a senior on our school called Chiaki Kansai, she can bend a spoon with her psychic powers"

Naru just crossed his arms, while Takahashi-san continued "I think it immediately started right after summer vacation. She showed it to us for the first time and she quickly became popular. The whole matter became a hot topic, some believed in her powers while others thought it was fake. After a while the school divided in two groups, believers and unbelievers. Things turned serious when the teachers were dragged on the discussion... " She took a small breath. ".Everyone wanted to put an end to this and find out whether or not it is fake, so Kasai-san was asked to go to the stage in a morning assembly."

With a small smile she lowered her voice. "That's when things got worst"

"Did everyone see it?" Naru asked

"Yes. In the assembly in front of the entire school, she was asked to bend a key"

Naru nodded, prompting her to continue.

"She bend it, and then well, the teachers and Sawaguchi-san, Kansai's friend, attacked Kasai-san. Saying stuff like, psychic powers don't exist, you're trying to escape reality, this is fake, how dreadful. Seriously."

She sighed but her expression turned serious. "Kansai eventually got fed up and said: 'I'll curse you to death' to the teacher. It became hectic." Shaking her head she finished her narration with a few more lines. "Since then Sawaguchi-san refuses to go to school, that's when all the strange things began to happen as well... To be fair, we all think it may be Kansai's curse that is causing these events"

"Do you know where can we see her?"

"If I remember correctly, Kasai-san and Sawaguchi-san were both in the Biology Club. Kasai-san might still be in school. She should be in the room where the Biology club was in, the Bio-preparation room. She rarely talks now but you should be able to meet her there"

"Thank you. We'll go there and take a look. —Mai, come on."

"Roger" she saluted before waving Taka good bye.

...

*Knock knock*

"Yes?" A woman's voice replied from the other side of the door.

Naru opened the door. "Excuse me for intruding, but would Kasai-san be here?"

There were some desks and shelves inside, along with a schoolgirl and a female teacher.

"How can we help you?" The teacher put on a gentle smile. While the school girl looked at them with hostility.

"I'm Shibuya from 'Shibuya Psychic Research'. May I speak with Kansai-san?"

"Ah sure, please come in. I'm Ubusuna kei, the Biology teacher"

"That's an uncommon name"

The teacher just smiled in response to Naru's comment.

"Since it's about Kasai-san... That must mean you want to hear about the incident in September."

"Yes. I would like to ask her about the circumstances."

"I don't want to." Kasai-san's face was turned away from them. "It has nothing to do with me. Leave me alone."

"But, you should talk to them so that they don't misunderstand," the teacher coaxed.

"..." Kasai-san looked outside the window. "I don't want to. They will call me a liar."

"But didn't you hear them? They work on psychic phenomenon cases. I don't think they would deny what you have to tell them for no reason"

The girl slowly turned to them. "What did you want to talk about?"

Naru was quick to ask about Sawaguchi-san and the other incidents going around, she answered just as quickly as the question went on, denying any relation to the incident with them.

Just then Mai tried to look around, she knew that Naru's inquires tend to be long. Her eyes landed on Ubusuna-sensei. Slowly the hair in the back of her neck began to stand... 'that smile, what's wrong with that smile?'

She seemed to have noticed Mai's stare as she turned to look at her with a gentle smile. She avoided her eyes and turned to listen to Naru's and Kansai's conversation.

She felt her narrow her eyes but she just swallowed hard.

"Can you bend spoons?"

Upon hearing Naru's voice, she gave him a stern stare.

"Yes I can. You probably don't believe it, and you must think I'm being selfish."

"Why would I? Even I can bend a spoon"

Hearing that, both Ubusuna-sensei and Kansai widened their eyes, Mai simply leaned to the right. 'that was definitely not a lie'

Recovering from her shock, the girl asked. "You can?"

"I can. There are no paranormal researchers that do not believe in PK."

Standing up the girl quickly went to a shelf and took out a spoon. "Show me" she held it for him to take it

Hesitating slightly, he took it and pressed the head of the spoon backwards. It bended but before it did Mai could hear the same strange sound from before. The sound his fingers made when he touched the cursed desk.

Blinking she saw the head of the spoon hit the floor. The sound was loud on the silent room.

"Amazing.. " Kansai commented out loud.

"Do you believe me now?"

"...Yes."

Mai turned to look at Ubusuna-sensei. Her eyes were still wide and her breathing has stopped. She was the most shocked one. It didn't last long but she glared with hatred towards Naru.

He, however was listening to Kansai's story on how things started and didn't pay attention to his surroundings.

Mai pulled her eyes back to Kansai, it wouldn't be funny if she was catched by the older woman... Another strange sound, but this time a lot lower than before got Mai's attention.

Kansai had connected back the head of the spoon to the stick. Without a care she threw it on Ubusuna-sensei's desk.

"Well story short it was all because of that broadcast"

"...?"

Kasai-san stopped talking to Naru. Ubusuna-sensei then continued for her. Her fake mask was on.

"Back in the day, a psychic named Uri Geller appeared in a broadcasting. Some of the viewers began to bend spoons, and that's when this whole commotion about psychic powers started. Those who discovered their psychic powers back then were called 'Gellerini'."

"You know this very well."

The teacher just smiled..

He turned to Kansai again. "Can you still bend it?"

"Of course I can!"

...

She was caught cheating... Naru quickly scolded her.

"But I really can bend it!" Kasai-san shouted.

"If you are caught using that kind of trick, you will lose your credibility. Got it?"

"...Yes."

"The Gellerini's powers were terribly unstable. Every paranormal researcher knows this fact. If you can't do it, then just say you can't do it. Don't pay any attention to those people who do not believe because they never believed in psychic powers from the beginning."

"I understand."

"I'm the one who taught her that." Ubusuna-sensei placed a hand by her mouth as she apologized. "Some teachers put her in situations where she had to bend spoons to prove her powers. Kasai-san's powers are unstable...Everybody's suspicion grew stronger, and they wanted to make her cower."

Naru nodded. "You are a very understanding teacher."

Ubusuna-sensei didn't answer, but smiled slightly instead.

"Lately..." Kansai began "I couldn't use that as easily as you did and the amount of request were overwhelming so I just..."

""I see. Then Did you also say: 'I'll curse you to death' to Yoshino-san?"

"After he said all those mean things to me, I flew into a rage. I couldn't help but get angry. That time I really bended his key properly in the morning assembly"

"So you were just saying it?" Naru said to Kasai-san and Ubusuna-sensei as he looked at them.

"Yeah, I don't know how curses work, but I bet it is hard to do"

Naru nodded and began asking about the other teachers relationship with her.

"Most of them don't believe me but what is worst is that they are blaming Ubusuna-sensei, even going as far to criticize her work as a teacher. That's just not fair, even the members of the biology club quit"

"My, my, that's not your fault, don't worry about it"

...

Mai sighed. She was confused, 'was Ubusuna-sensei a bad person or not?'

"Mai"

"Mmm?" She stopped walking and turned to look at Naru

"I have a favor to ask of you."

"Okay...?" She stepped back just in case.

"About my bending the spoon earlier."

"Yeah?"

"Keep it a secret from everybody."

"Why? It was amazing." She pouted

"Please. Especially from Lin."

"Fine, but we gotta pinky promise otherwise I can't guarantee I will keep it a secret" she held her finger to him.

"..." Reluctantly he turned around. His face resembling for the first time, his real age. Both of them interlaced their pinkies.

"So childish" he muttered under his breath.

"Eh? What's that? Are you embarrassed?" Mai leaned to her right.

His face returned to his beautiful poker face as he rolled his eyes.

...

Entering the base was harder than usual. It was a total mess. John was injured, Masako claimed there were no spirits and both Ayako and Bou-san were fighting. Lin looked annoyed in his place near the screens.

Everyone took turns to explain what had happened and Masako answered with confidence that there were no spirits in the whole school.

Even with details of the events the situation didn't seem to change.

Naru sighed and turned to Mai. Already fed up with their uselessness

"What were the purple things you saw?"

* * *

Ready to jump? If you think I will miss a lot let me know. Next chapter we will jump towards the will o wisps or whatever that they are called. If you were pitying Gene, think twice. His purpose for possessing Mai that moment was to make Mai flirt with Naru, it was funny because the card was turned against him.

If you liked Ubusuna-sensei, I'm sorry. I will make her crazy. Enough spoilers! Review time.

Sp00pyGhost: we will see about that! Thank you greatly for loving it! :*

llazo4108824: here it is! As promised the update! I'm loving to write this! Thanks for the review :D

Kallen21: here it is ;D la~

CaitHawke4Ever: thank yous! I really do have fun writing their reactions! I'm glad you loved them! ;)

Mortisvenom: you were so right it hurt! XD

Karibel. : ese es El objetivo muahaha :'D

See you soon! Wow I need to study xD


	17. Chapter 17

Hioooo! This is my last update for now. I will return to the usual schedule after July 7. As much as I wish to write... I need to seriously study, I already paid for the exam and I can't afford to pay for another trip so... I must fight! Afterwards I need to find a job too, so please wish me luck!

Btw this part of the story will differ from the original, as the translation was left in 40% in baka tsuki. I will mix my stuff with the manga to make it up. Hope it doesn't turn out that bad

* * *

"Well even if you ask me... I just got a glimpse of it" Mai shook her head, even so, she didn't succeed in avoiding his interrogation process.

"Can't you ask your spirit guide?" Naru pressed on.

"Spirit guide? Ah! You mean Gen-iie" (Gene+ iie= no Japanese) she sat up straight, and grabbed the back of her neck. Gene had tickled her with his breath.

"Genie? Like the one in Aladdin?" Bou-san burst out laughing.

"Eh?"

Before Mai could clarify, Gene stepped in front of her and nearly beg her to keep it like that.

'please Mai, don't let anyone else know. My brother is enough' not really understanding why, she nodded.

'tell the idiot scientist, that I don't really know the cause but those will o wisps were not born naturally'

"Ugh.. he is saying something complicated, the best I got was. Will o wisps and that he doesn't know the cause... Ah that they aren't born naturally" Mai began with a sour face then ended up with a satisfied expression.

"Do the will o wisps move?"

"No, he says they are static"

Naru resumed his thinking pose.

"Mmm you know, maybe it's a curse?"

"Don't be silly Mai, curses are meant to harm a single person" Ayako corrected.

"Then what about a human effigy? Ah no wait they don't summon spirits." She gave up

"..."

"..."

Everyone had turned their attention to her. Even Gene who couldn't be seen by others.

She stepped back, while she kept looking at their eyes. When she couldn't stand it. she asked out loud.

"What? Was it that dumb?"

"Lin" Naru's voice cut her embarrassment short.

"It's a possibility" the stoic man nodded from his place on the screens. No sign of his blobs going around.

"Why didn't I realized this sooner?" Naru muttered to himself "this is a zuso!"

...

"Then it must be her right? Kasai from the Kasai panic" Ayako nominated her.

"It would make sense, no one here believed she had psychic powers" Bou-san nodded.

"She also said "I will curse you to death"" Masako continued

"No, she is innocent" Mai defended

"Are you sure? I think she's lying, please ,as if she can actually bend spoons." The Miko huffed.

"Eh, you think that's fake?"

"Well.. Uri Geller started spoon bending." John started to explain "his supernatural powers were shown to the public. He had PK, clairvoyance, and prediction abilities similar to that of a prophet. He made the impossible possible. Geller was everywhere when it came to spoon bending. All the children saw him do it too."

Mai nodded she remembered what Ubusuna-sensei had said."Um, you mean the Gellerini?"

"Yes, that's right. But the Gellerini had unstable powers. When they lost their powers, they would rely on magic tricks. Some of them were exposed as cheaters"

"I see." Mai muttered

"Because of that, some people began to doubt Geller's ability."

"Eh?They doubted Uri Geller?"

"Yeah. At that time, America's Society of Parapsychology had publicly announced that Uri Geller was a fake. That incident left such a strong impression on people that everyone now believes spoon bending is fake."

"Wow... Did you thought so too, John, that he was faking it?"

He made a tired smile "he was too showy. At any rate, they were just illusions that garnered more attention than they deserved."

Mai nodded and turned to look at Bou-san, he nodded "I think Geller was a fake too."

"Why?"

"Psychic ability...if it's the ability of sensing hidden things, hearing noises, or seeing things, then that's the ability to sense things that shouldn't be there. Geller was well-received at first, but he was later in a bind. He could do everything, but there was still something strange about him," the monk admitted.

"Right," John nodded. "There are two types of psychic abilities, ESP and PK. ESP is extrasensory perception, a special ability in which one can perceive things that normal people cannot. There are two branches of ESP: clairvoyance and telepathy."

"Aha..."

"PK stands for psychokinesis. It's an ability that normal people do not have. Basically it's the power to move objects with your mind... Generally psychics fall into one of these classifications: PK or ESP. Occasionally someone will be a mix of each, but most people will fall into just one of those categories."

Soon the monk began to say names of famous people, including Oliver Davis but none of them were heard of having more than one category

Ayako said something about PK and Mai couldn't really understand it so Bou-san began to explain

"There are three types of PK: PK-MT, PK-ST, and PK-LT."

'...Wow, this is too much information, hear it well Mai' Gene teased, she ignored him by waving her hand as if she was pushing away a fly

"Spoon bending would fall under the PK-ST category. It's the ability to influence stationary objects. There are a lot of misunderstandings regarding this ability. There have been many reports of frauds that claim to have this. Actually, PK-MT is considered the best ability out of all of them. This is the ability to influence moving objects, such as changing the eyes of a die as it's rolling. If you're thinking about getting a two, then you really will get a two."

"That sounds cool"

"PK-MT is also widely considered to be fake. However, the majority of people have this. This latent ability varies in power for different people."

"Ah so I may have it as well?"

"Maybe... Let's go on" the Monk cleared his voice. He was in teaching mode and didn't want to be interrupted.

Mai nodded in understanding.

"Nina Kulagina. She was very strong. She had both PK-ST and PK-LT. PK-LT is the ability to influence living organisms, such as making them move. Such actions were often a cinch for her. She could cure illnesses with just physical contact. She stopped a frog's heart and even a human heart."

"She could stop hearts—?!"

"Yes. During the experiment, she aroused the researcher's curiosity. If she could stop a frog's heart, then she might be able to stop a human's heart. He got a volunteer for the experiment, and eventually the volunteer's heart was in imminent danger of stopping. The doctor witnessing this was able to save him though."

"Then that's similar to what I do, isn't it? But why would she want to stop hearts?"

Bou-san ruffled her hair. "You might have that but since you have a spirit guide with you it means you have ESP too. Which throws away everything so far. You may be the occasional mix but we won't know until you're tested out"

"Ah, having the two types right? But that's because of what I am"

"Eh? What you are?" Bou-san asked, he thought he had heard wrong so he was confused.

"Ah no, I mean. I'm human and all but right now. Naru and I, are on a game in which he must find out what I am. I can't give him clues so, I won't tell anyone. It was because of that, that I got- ah no spoilers!" She stopped herself from saying more

"Right..." Monk shrugged, if she wasn't telling them. They should find out by themselves.

"ah another very important figure in PK is England's Oliver Davis. He also has PK-ST. Normally, PK is used to move matchboxes, spoons, or other little objects. But there's a big gap of power between this guy and the others. Dr. Davis is more of a serious researcher than a PK-user, and as such he hasn't been publicized much. If I remember correctly, last year there was a video of him doing an experiment. In the experiment, he threw a 50-kg block of aluminum into a wall."

"Wow."

"So... .Uri Geller could do all the PK, right? On top of that, he could also use ESP. so, he looked suspicious to me."

Naru interposed. "Well...in any case, regarding Kasai-san's problem, for the time being, the important thing is she believed in her powers. She felt that her teacher's attack on her was quite unfair. This resulted in..."

"Making the zuso?" Masako asked

"I believe her, she is innocent" Mai interrupted Naru from answering

"..." They stared at each other.

"Do you know that for sure?"

"Yes I do"

"What a mess" both Ayako and Monk sighed

"well it's Mai we are talking about, she may be onto something" John whispered to them on the back

"It's this your intuition again?"

"Of course it is"

"..." Naru sighed "Lin let's check the cursed desk. Mai stay here and watch the equipment, the rest look for something similar to a hitogata, they should be buried or hidden somewhere near the affected locations. We will look for the jusha later (caster)"

"Eh? Are you sure? The Jusha may produce more" Bou-san asked.

"Our priority is to stop the ones on site, if they are left unattended. Someone may die. To break the enmi we either return the zuso to the Jusha or we burn the hitogata used for the curse"

"I want a break" the Monk cried

"Do you want to do this? Or would you rather go home?" Naru smiled in a threatening way. It froze the Monk up on the spot. His soul muttered to let him do it as it nearly flew out of his mouth.

As they walked. Ayako could be seen scolding Bou-san for loosing the fight

Mai giggled as she watch everyone go. She was left alone with Gene for a while, before he went to take a nap. He promised he was going to come back soon.

She had just finished arranging the interviews when a knock on the door got her attention. It was Ubusuna-sensei.

"I hope I'm not bothering you"

"No it's alright, I just finished this" she pointed at the neat column of papers beside her.

"I see. I'm sorry, I came here to once again claim that Kansai-san is innocent"

"It's alright, I believe in her. She really is innocent" Mai smiled, sincerity emanating from her.

Ubusuna-sensei narrowed her eyes "is that so? I'm relieved to hear that"

"Yeah please don't worry, Naru will surely catch the culprit"

The teacher's eyes widened but she didn't let it show. "Naru? You mean Shibuya-san?""

"Ye-s I'm sorry, it's a nickname for being a narcissist" Mai made an apologetic smile

"I heard from the red haired lady on the backyard tell the tall blonde guy. Something close to him being an onmyouji"

"Ahahahah I'm sorry, I don't know what that is" she lied but the teacher noticed.

"It's alright, I was just curious. I Will excuse myself, class will soon start. I will send kasai-san to see if she can help later on."

"Thank you" Mai bowed as the teacher left. She sighed in relief, she didn't want to be near her.

...

An hour later, Naru came back

"Is everything alright?" Mai asked when she didn't saw Lin with him.

"Lin is trying to track the Jusha with the hitogata we found"

"I see, would you like some tea?"

He nodded as he took a seat.

"Is my brother here?"

"Nope, he went to take a nap" she put the tea cup in front of him. "Ne... What is the 'spirit guide' thing you said before?"

"Hara-san noticed his presence when he possessed you and that was his excuse"

Mai made a sour face but he continued "he said you needed one, so he willingly became one by coming to you" Naru smirked at the look on her face.

"Did someone come?"

"Yeah... Ubusuna-sensei did'

"What for?"

Mai made a tired smile "to check on us? She said Kasai-san was innocent but she asked if you were an onmyouji"

"Why would she asks that?" Naru narrowed his eyes.

Before Mai could answer him, the lights began to flicker. She held her breath and Naru instantly stood up. He stood in front of her. Just then the lights went off.

"Naru..."

"Calm down, don't move"

"Ok, but isn't that hair?"

"..."

The light tried to go on but it only managed to dim the room showing deep dark black hair coming from the ceiling. The light flickered and the hair grew longer.

Every time the light flickered, it steadily lengthened.

Mai stared at the ceiling over Naru's back. When there was a flicker again, a hairline became visible—a hairline with a pale forehead.

The light wavered. It went down, revealing its forehead up to its eyebrows. Another flicker, and closed eyes came in sight. It fell from the ceiling in every flicker, and before they were aware of it, its cheeks and jaw appeared. ...Before long, it turned into a woman's form dangling from the ceiling merely by her neck.

Unconsciously, Mai grabbed his arm. He returned the gesture by grabbing her hand with his other hand.

The woman, whose face was pale as wax, opened her eyes widely in an instant. She focused on Naru with glaring eyes as though she were starving for something. She then lifted her thin bloodless lips into a smile.

"Naru... She's looking at you... Are you a target now?"

"Why would I be one?" Naru glared at the ghost thinking the possibility over in his head

the light wavered again. The woman's body came down: her white-kimono-clad shoulders and then chest. Looking like she wouldn't stop soon, the woman leaned forward from the ceiling. Hanging upside down, she held a gruesome smile and watched Naru intently. The look in her eyes was brutal.

She used both of her arms to push herself out, and when she finally did. She fell on the floor. The impact made some of her limbs to dislocate but that thing didn't seemed to care. She arched her back and used her limbs to stand in four. She had her back to the floor but her neck began to break as it tried to reposition her view. The sound of it breaking itself was horrifying.

Mai's stomach flipped in response. She was about to throw up. but Surprisingly at that moment, somebody opened the door.

"Bou-san!"

Pushing the door open and grasping the knob, Bou-san stiffened. He looked hard at the woman and quickly linked his fingers. "Naumaku sanmanda bazaradan kan!" At Bou-san's voice, the woman's body slithered back into her shadow. The light turned on at the same time as the tips of her hair vanished.

"What was that...just now?" Bou-san gaped in surprise.

"Well that was Naru's will o wisps"

"How can you be so sure?" Naru turned to Mai who was sitting on the floor.

"I don't understand myself, but that evil thing was aiming for you. It never looked at me."

"Why would Kasai-san, target him?" Bou-san tried his thinking pose.

"Kasai isn't the Jusha. But Naru may be in the way. After all he may solve this case. When Ubusuna-sensei came, she asked me if you were an onmyouji. She told me she had heard Bou-san and Ayako on the backyard"

Naru turned to glare at Bou-san. "I'm not, Lin is the onmyouji"

In response the Monk groaned and apologized for his mistake.

"I told her I didn't know but..." Mai tightened her grip on her clothes.

"But?"

"I may had said you were close to catching the culprit"

Naru sighed. Feeling a headache coming up. "It's late, let's go home" was all he said.

* * *

Well it should be more obvious what Mai is with this clues. When I finally reveal it... you will wish to reread it and will see xD

On a side note, guess what? I got a heat stroke today. I was sick all day and couldn't touch my books. I pray that I will pass.

This chapter was already written so I just checked it up before posting it, so don't worry. Next chapter is where Naru shows his pet coin to Mai.. I cry to have to study instead of writing it


	18. Chapter 18

Guess who's back? That's right! Is the anime addicted fan xD how was my exam? Well my results aren't out yet, they will be near August or so.. you're asking me how well do I think I did? To be honest... I think I failed, not because it was difficult. It was because it was something I overlooked xD I went further in my studies. More than I should had. An you know sometimes the simple things we don't focus are the things that come out. Like hiragana... The full vocab in hiragana... I studied the kanjis for crying out loud T-T I should had made the n4 instead... Ah I'm dead tired.

Enough of me! Let's enjoy the story I have been so obsessed to write out! Also on last chapter I kinda skipped the replies for the reviews. I'm sorry. I was nervous and forgot about it. Nerveless I did read them and I really appreciate the support! Please do continue to write them. I love them :3

* * *

The next day Mai found herself alone on the base. No one had arrived yet. Signing she sat down.

'can't believe I couldn't sleep, yesterday was really creepy. Specially with Naru's will-o'-the-wisps' she made herself some coffee as her thoughts continued on.

Just then Naru and Lin entered the room.

"Morning Naru, Lin-san"

Naru nodded while Lin-san ignored her. His blobs however went to snuggle her face. She was about to Pat them when Lin turned to her and glared at them. She raised her hands in the air, both the blobs and her froze on the spot.

A silent command was made and they quickly returned to Lin.

She avoided his eyes and turned to look at Naru's instead. He was squinting his eyes when trying to read the report on her desk.

"Ne... Naru, your eyes are red, you couldn't sleep last night?"

"... No, the ghost and I were glaring at each other"

"..." The cup she had in her hand almost fell but it only managed to make a strong *kachan* sound as she mid air catched it and set it on the table. The untouched coffee almost made a mess as it dangerously danced on the cup's borders.

Both Lin and her stared in surprise at him.

"... You mean... The ghost from yesterday?"

"Yeah, you guessed right Mai. It showed up on my room last night" he took her cup of coffee from the table and drank it. "I figured it wouldn't be safe to take my eyes off it, so I stared at it all night."

She blinked twice, as Lin exclaimed "why didn't you call me?'

"Well I was kind of curious to see what would happen. I also felt bad about waking you up in the middle of the night"

"Nevermind about that, all you had to do was knock on the wall. What would you had done if something had happened?"

'Naru is being scolded!' Mai brought her hand to cover her mouth. It will be bad if Naru catched her smiling.

"If something really did happened of course I would had called you. But nothing happened"

'hahahaha ah Gene you're missing the show, when will you wake up? The nap better be worth it cause this is priceless!'

Naru turned to look at her, he narrowed his eyes. He knew she was laughing. He slightly glared at her.

'he looks so pitiful... Pfff! Alright alright. I will help you out this time' she rolled her eyes at him and then cleared her throat. He raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me, you said knock on the wall... Do you guys live together?" Mai leaned her head to the right, curiosity winning on her act.

"I guess you could say something like that... Something wrong?" Naru answered pocket face on.

"No nothing" Mai scratch her head "he seems more like a guardian, or hired guard than family, no maybe something in between like-"

"It had nothing to do with you, pay that no mind" Naru shot her down.

She grinned "your way of confirming things is so confusing. If you care about him so much tell him directly, you can have a family even without being of the same lineage"

"!" Naru stood up. Lin's eyes widened.

"That's not of your business!" He was flustered, even with his poker face on.

She grinned even wider and shot him a wink before running away from the base.

A nearby window glass cracked up.

"..." An awkward silence settled on the base. Lin was moved beyond words as he covered his mouth with a hand.

Naru couldn't help but tremble in shame 'I will definitely make her pay for this'

"Lin, not a word of this. To anyone, **understood?** "

He nodded a smirk making his way on his face. Naru slammed the door as he slowly walked the direction she had taken. He was hunting her down. Let her run, she would never be able to escape him.

...

'ah Naru's going to kill me!' she ran out of the building without anyone noticing.

"Why?" She asked out loud as she saw him walking slowly from the window near the entrance

'rather than asking why... You better run Mai'

'Gene you scared the hell out of me!'

'well hell is coming this way as we speak'

'ah I'm so dead! Me and my big mouth!' she began to run as the door opened

'yeah that was hilarious' Gene laughed from the bottom of his heart.

'if you were watching, you should had stopped me!' she ran towards the back, there was a metallic fence.

'no way! Someone had to say it!' Gene brushed a tear out of his eye. She climbed the fence up and jumped from the top, in the process bumping her chin.

'it didn't need to be me!' she protested dusting her clothes off.

'well I didn't force you, good luck with Oni-san over there ' (Oni can be used for ogre in Japanese as well as brother depending on the pronunciation)

'you're leaving me?' she looked back at his retreating form in surprise.

'just for now, I shouldn't intrude on a lover's quarrels'

'lover's!?' he had disappeared at her exclamation. she blushed but quickly paled.

She could hear his steps coming her way. Turning her eyes left and right she looked for a place to hide. The sign of -Do not enter- left her sight completely.

Somewhere in the middle of the land there was a sewer with it's lid open. She approached it silently.

"Mai"

She shivered at the sound of her name. It didn't sound happy at all.

She turned to look against her will. He had opened the door of the fence on the right.

'there was a freaking door! Ugh that's just great' she chewed on her lip.

"... mommy..."

She blinked. She heard a kid. She jerked her body towards the sewer. Naru stopped walking at the sudden action.

"Mommy..." This time she heard it better. She began to run towards the sewer.

"Mai!" Naru called her. And she stopped a few meters before she turned to explain herself. As the note in his voice held an imperativeness tone.

"There's a kid! Naru, a child is crying" she pointed her finger towards the sewer

"What? How can a kid be near here? better yet in there"

She blinked 'that's right... How can-" before she could completely think about it, something grabbed her foot. She looked down and a child like spirit smiled back at her with a sinister aura.

*Uff* she was pulled and she fell on her butt. Instantly she was dragged to the sewer.

Her hands uselessly grabbed grass in an attempt to get a hold of something. Just when she thought she was done for. Her hand was caught by Naru's. She was literally hanging on the sewer.

"... N-Naru"

"You idiot!"

"I'm sorry..." Her voice wavered

"You're okay calm down. Put your foot on the ladder, you can do that right?"

"Y-yes" just when she put her body weight on the foot that was on the ladder. It broke up.

"! ! !"

Both of them fell down, Naru brought her close in a hug and the strange sound that she heard when he bended the spoon filled her ears. She winced when the same spot that had popped up before in her head began to hurt. It was stronger than she had ever thought possible, had she not experienced before on that last case the pop up and the broken ribs, she would had probably fainted. Or perhaps she did.

"Ugh"

She blinked the stars away from her eyes as she sat down...

"Are you okay?" Naru's voice sounded faint.

"Yeah... Nothing broken" she answered, ignoring the burning friction wounds on her legs and arms when she was dragged down."wait... You fell too?"

"You didn't let go of my hand"

"I'm sorry, are you hurt? I will heal you"

"I'm fine"

"But-"

"Leave it, I don't want to see another bloody nose from you"

"Don't be stubborn, let me see"

She tried to get closer to him but he stepped away.

"Have it your way jerk" she puffed while tears formed in her eyes.

"Crying won't change my mind"

"I'm not crying!" Using her sleeve, she cleaned her eyes.

'damn you, how can you be so calm. A freaking spirit dragged us down and all you can do is be a cold hearted jerk! I admit is my fault but at least you should try to cheer me up! We are alone over here!'

She clenched her fist in anger but then blinked twice... 'Gene said we were like lover's... Is that how we look like? No way, me and him? Ah-' she blushed

"Are you feeling better?" He interrupted her thoughts.

"Yeah" she grinned

He smiled lightly.

"Ah weapons"

"What?"

"Nothing, you noticed that I was feeling better?"

"I did, first you get depressed. Then you get upset, but after that you start to feel better and start to think positive"

'if it weren't for that... ' he didn't continue the thought, he didn't want to...

"Am I that obvious?" She sighed

"Yes you're very predictable"

"..." She slammed her hands to her face as she covered her blush.

"Mai, let me introduce you to my pet"

"Huh?" Mai made a dumb found expression. He smirked.

"Hey, come say hi" he held a 500yen coin with his fingers.

"You... You're not telling me that your pet is that 500yen coin... Right?" She grabbed her ears thinking that he may had hit his head on the fall.

"He hid himself because you made fun of him"

She heard the strange sound again but this time her headache didn't matter anymore. She had a distraction "no way! He must be in your hand!"

"Where?" He held his hands up.

"Huh!?"

"I wonder where he went?" He touched his chest but he found it on his elbow "here he is"

"How did you? Hey... Let me see that" she looked like a child extending her hand with big starts on her eyes.

"Here you go" he flipped the coin and it sounded out loud but her hands only catched air

."ah what?" She was annoyed

He giggled faintly

"Meany you really didn't throw him! That's not fair"

He held both hand up and she giggled in response.

"It seems he got scared and hid because you raised your voice"

She quickly denied she had but her voice was louder.

"See you just did"

"Ah oops!"

"Oh he was hiding right here" again with the strange sound. He got the coin out of his hair.

"You're amazing Naru, a really good magician!"

"You really thought that was magic?"

"It wasn't?" She leaned her head to the right

 _"no, I'm not!"_

'the coin! The coin just spoke!" She jerked back.

"Are you scared of Mai?" Naru continued without care of her reaction.

 _"...yes"_ his voice was mixed with the strange sound.

"..." She was without words"

"You don't need to be scared, Mai is not as intimidating as she seems" he held the coin closer to him as if he was sharing a secret.

 _"really"_

"yes" he put the coin in her hand

She blinked, the coin gave both of them a small electric shot. Both of them jerked their hands off and it fell on the ground.

She began to laugh "your pet just bit us"

"So it seems" he smiled tiredly.

"You should rest, you're tired aren't you?' she picked the coin up and set it on his hand. 'not to mention you look pale'

"I'm not tired, I just don't have the tools to make anything more complicated than that"

"Mmm" she nodded

"Don't worry when everyone gathers and we're not there... Well I don't know about the others but Lin will definitely search for us"

"You think so?"

"I do"

She grinned

He glared at her remembering the issue from before. A dripping sound getting closer stopped him from bringing it over.

He tried to put himself in front of Mai, but she didn't let him.

"Stay there, she won't stop unless there's something blocking her"she was glaring at the growing shadow in the water.

Naru's eyes widened, he couldn't move. He was stuck in place and it was for certain that it wasn't because of fear.

The shadow grew and this time she stand up in two legs. Her back seemed to be broken as her top part hanged to the right. (She looked like 'mama' from the horror movie)

She used her leg to make a step and as she did, with her hand she took out a scythe from her mouth. It cut open her cheeks.

Beside the black haired woman, a second shadow grew. This time it was smaller... That of a child

The child's mouth and cheeks fell down leaving a terrific view of her teeth. Mai stood up. Legs shaking as her stomach protested. She made her hands a fist. She prayed that someone could find them. She didn't want to be there, she wanted to run but Naru couldn't.

'please!' she begged

The woman and kid began their dash towards them.

Her fist began to shine lightly.

'please someone! Anyone!'

The woman jumped in the air, her scythe aiming for her, the kid was to her right. Her body froze, her lighting fist faded. She didn't have enough time to concentrate.

"Mai!"

'please help!' she closed her eyes tightly.

Both of the spirits instantly vanished. Naru was finally able to get up. He grabbed her arm just when her legs gave in.

"Naru?" Lin called out from the top "are you down here?"

"Yes, we need a rope or ladder, bring a flashlight as well" he answered back never leaving her arm out of his hand. He could feel her trembling and that made him bite the inside of his cheek.

...

"Seriously, you need to stop falling into holes" Ayako scolded her as she bandaged her legs.

"Well it was thanks to her that we found the hitogatas. Just take a look at that, whoever made them is amazing for being able to do so many. I didn't even think to look into the sewer" Bou-san messed Mai's hair as she pouted.

"I don't know if Mai has luck or not. She always gets in trouble" Ayako sighed.

Bou-san chuckled at Mai's exclamation and indignation. He turned to Naru.

"So? This should stop the power of zuso right?"

"Correct, all we need to do is burn the hitogatas and throw the ash to a river"

"But I wonder if this will stop the Jusha"

'Mai!'

'Gene?' she turned to look at the other twin as the rest continued on with the conversation.

'what happened? Brother is...'

"Naru, didn't you get hurt too? Let me look at your injury" Ayako called out to him but he didn't respond.

'Mai please, I beg you. Please even a second is fine...'

"What's wrong Naru? You don't feel good?" Ayako touched his shoulder. In slow motion his body fell to the opposite side of her.

"..." *Gasps!*

"Naru!?" Lin's voice called out. He quickly held him from the ground

'please I beg you! Help him!' Gene's desperate voice broke her state of shock.

"Please don't move him, call an ambulance" that was his order to Ayako's approach.

"Lin-san!" Mai called to him. "Lay him down, step aside"

"What? No-"

"Hurry he doesn't have time" she cut him off before he could protest. She opened up a honey bear jar and directly drank it.

Gene sat besides Naru as Lin laid him down.

"You better know what you are doing" Lin warned her.

Instead of responding she sat next to Naru's chest.

'his heart' Gene pointed

She nodded and closed her eyes. She concentrated and her hands began to glow in front of her. She opened her eyes as she felt the honey kicking in. She slowly brought her hands to his chest.

Her light wavered, her eyes widened but instantly narrowed as she bit her lips. There was a resistant force that was repelling her.

'don't fight it, let it go through' Gene looked anxiously.

*Tch* she concentrated on the tips of her fingers and allowed whatever that was to go through her palms. She almost jerked her hands away but Gene's desperate look held her back. It burned.

Like she was grabbing an electric teaser with her hands. She couldn't help but let out a weak cry as her hand finally landed on his chest.

A sudden electric current made Lin who was the closest to them step aside.

His eyes widened as it finally came to him what she was doing. She was using her body as a conductor.

'that's it Mai, just a second more. Hang on'

She closed her eyes in pain, she felt it was like an eternity

'you can let go! Mai you did it, let go' Gene cried out in joy

She shot her light down but... It still hurt. Her eyes widened. It was hurting even more than before. She was stuck! She couldn't move her hands out. The pain suddenly went to her chest.

Gene's eyes widened

'i can't stop it! Gene!'

'fight! Is okay to fight now!' he was unable to control his voice.

The atmosphere in the base suddenly turned heavy.

In a single second something similar to air breaking down in front of Mai could be heard.

The impact of that wave send her flying towards a wall.

She slid down and laid in fetal position as the pain in her chest grew.

'no, no, no' she didn't want to use that but she had no choice it will happen even without her will. Then she better choose and be done with it.

She held her breath and cried out loud. She grabbed her head as her body began to glow.

'It will pass. The pain will pass' she thought over and over again.

Gene stepped back a look of sorrow in his face. He couldn't stay near her right now or her light would affect him 'i'm sorry. I'm so sorry' he continued to apologise as his form disappeared from her sight.

'just go take a nap' Mai barked at him 'i did it while knowing this may happen'

'...' he gripped his fist in order to keep himself from apologising even more. 'thank you' he disappeared completely

'that's better'

...

"Mai!" Ayako's voice finally reached her. She focused her consciousness on her and managed to finish out what she had carried out.

Her body finally stopped shinning...

"Ayako..."

"Mai!" She cried out once again and this time Bou-san left the Miko go. He had stopped her from coming closer to her

Masako looked pale to the right of John who similarly had the same complexion. Bou-san looked no better and Lin looked as stoic as ever. However there was some sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to use that" a tear fell down from her eye.

"Shh is alright sweetie. You're okay now. Let's get your hands treated"

She nodded but she couldn't really stand. She had no energy left and she was sleepy.

"Lin-san... I couldn't do much... Take him to the hospital..." Her voice was growing fainter.

"No, you did more than we can ever paid for. Thank you" Lin bowed to her.

She smiled tiredly to him.

Bou-san carried her to the couch. "You better keep your new hair style for a while. It suits you"

"I won't" she giggled but that was the last she remembered. Everything turned black.

"..."

"Should we take her to the hospital as well?" John asked when no one else said anything and the sirens of the ambulance could be heard.

"She said not to. Perhaps something similar happened in the past?" Ayako asked. Her eyes were downcast which was an unusual sight on her.

"Let her rest. If she doesn't get better we will take her to the hospital" Lin gave his input.

"We better catch whomever did this. It's the least we can do for her" Bou-san sighed.

"We need to burn the hitogatas as well" Masako looked away trying to refrain her tears from dropping.

"I will go with Naru to the hospital. Takigawa-san please take care of that. Matsuzaki-san stay with Taniyama-san. Hara-san, Brown-san look out for the equipment.

Everyone slightly nodded as they watch him leave with Naru on the ambulance.

* * *

Well I almost gave too much detail on what Mai had to do in order to get the excessive pure energy out of her system. It would had been a major spoiler. But well her hair is long now, it reaches the middle of her back.

Okay **since it's Naru I can go ahead and explain his condition. He has an excessive energy like aura surrounding his body at all times. Since he was a child with the help of Gene he could transform that pure energy into "diluted" energy that could be used as his mind wished. Gene was something like a conductor to him, that transformed that pure energy. However because Gene could detect his aura/energy he became perceptive of other types of auras. Ghost. Being used to be a conductor to a powerful aura. He could easily conduct the Ghost possessions perfectly making him the perfect medium. Whatever language it was, and the tone of voice that resembled the dead person was one of his main features but other's included sensing the aura/energy in an entire compound. Making him see through walls and the like, similar to x-ray...** This is merely my hypothesis. It may be wrong but it makes sense for me. Hope it does for you.

Btw it may feel rushed, but there was no LN translation for that chapter so this is modified manga

Review time!

CaitHawke4Ever: Monk and John have a great amount of knowledge, sadly it isn't shown that much on the anime and manga. Nope she isn't an angel, nor witch and neither is she onmyouji. The answer is a bit more simple. I loved the coin scene too so I didn't want to modify it that much. Hope you liked it!

Mortisvenom: thank you so much for crying with me! The pain is over xD well the manga does explain it better than the anime but it is the LN that has an even deeper sense of information. Here I cut a lot x3 thank you greatly!

Karibel. : la espera continua xD falta q añada Las especias muahahahah

Kallen21: here it is! ;* Thank you for waiting!

Llazo4108824: thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I will continue to post as soon as possible! :3


	19. Chapter 19

Well it is about time, that I began to job hunt. Let's see how it goes. I wish I could get paid for writing fanfiction xD

* * *

It was decided to stay in the base for the night. Masako had returned to her house while Ayako, John and Mai stayed there.

John took his place near the equipment while Ayako stayed near the unconscious Mai. She had broken in to a fever but that was all. She hadn't woke up or presented any other complication.

Monk had performed a purification ritual and burned the hitogatas. He arrived early in the morning to check on them.

"Morning, John, old hag. How is she?"

Ayako threw her purse at him.

"Who are you calling an old hag, perverted Monk? Ugh a part from a slight fever, she slept like a rock" she took her purse back from his hands. John nodded

"Morning mate, how did it go yesterday?"

"Easy as cake, speaking of food I brought some" he put the shopping bag on the table.

Ayako rolled her eyes but took an onigiri out and a juice box. "Are pancakes and coffee so hard to ask?" She murmured under her breath.

"You're welcome, seems like ageing is getting you to forget manners"

"What did you say!?"

"Mah mah.. Calm down, Mai is still sleeping" John stood in between

"Well not anymore" said girl growled while holding her head down.

"Ah don't get up yet! Drink some water and take it easy" Ayako turned to doctor mode.

"I'm fine-"

"No no, I won't take no for an answer" the Miko put her hands in her hips. The 'ready to scold if necessary' pose.

Mai turned to look at Monk and John. She pleaded with her eyes but they simply avoided her sight and shrugged their shoulders.

She sighed and took the water...

The sound of Takigawa's phone gathered everyone's attention. An unknown number was calling.

...

"Moshi Moshi? ...ah Lin-san, yeah she woke up. How's Naru-bou? Mmm I see, sure no problem we will head there right away. The hitogatas? Burned and the ashes on the river, I purified them just in case... Alright if you say so. Yeah I know the way. Until then" he hung up.

"Is Shibuya-san alright?" John asked.

"Yeah, he has a slight case of anemia and overwork but he will be fine. He wants us to head over there, Lin-san said to take the biology teacher and Kasai-san with us"

"Eh? What for?" Ayako protested, she was tired and wanted to go home for A bit

"Dunno, but it's better to follow his orders. Just thinking about what mood he is right now, gave me the chills. Can you stand?" He answered the Miko and turned to the weak teen on the couch.

"Yeah, just give me a second"

"A new born bambi" Bou-san mumbled under his breath.

"I heard that!" Mai exclaimed, almost falling from her place but she managed to balance herself out.

"Whatever, let me help"

...

"Mai-san? What happened? Your hands are... Are bandaged, are you alright?" Kasai-san panicked.

"Oh my" Ubusuna-sensei just narrowed her eyes as the words slipped her lips. 'what happened to her short hair?'

"I'm fine don't worry! More importantly, my boss wants an interview with both of you. Could you please come with us? This people here are part of our team" she presented them and avoided the teacher's eyes.

Kasai nodded but Ubusuna-sensei put on a small smile. "I'm sorry I still have a class to attend to"

"Oh is alright, the director already gave his ok" Takigawa answered with a smile of his own.

"Is that so? I will get my purse, just a second please" the small smile twitched lightly on her face but she turned around very quick and no one noticed

,...

"Hey are you sure this is the right room? His name's not listed" the red headed Miko asked.

"Lin-san said it was. If I'm wrong I will just apologize" knocking on the door the Monk said.

"Excuse us... Hey Naru-bou feeling better?"

Naru rolled his eyes "I'm fine" he was about to ask something but his eyes landed on Mai. She was holding on to Ayako and was guided to a nearby chair.

"..."

"..."

They stared at each other. Mai was the first one to blink "white, he's wearing white" she pointed at him with her finger.

He sighed "way to State the obvious, more importantly your hair?"

"Ah... hahaha let's talk about that later" she tried to scratch her head but winced due to the damage in her hands.

Ayako quickly handed her a glass of water and a pill to dull the pain. Naru just narrowed his eyes when he took in the shaking of her hands.

"Naru, both of them are waiting" Masako reminded him of the teacher and the student on the door.

"Eh? Masako you were here?" Mai asked unable to stop her surprise.

"Of course, I was too worried and couldn't help but come here as soon as visit hours started" she hid behind her sleeve.

'she knew where he was?' Mai leaned her head to the side.

"Enough, let's get this over with. Ubusuna-sensei, kasai-san, I will like to ask some questions. Please take seat."

Both of them nodded and sat besides Mai, kasai to her left and the teacher to her right.

"First of all, did any of you hear that I was an onmyouji?" Naru opened up his black notebook.

"Yes" Ubusuna nodded.

"Yeah I heard from sensei" kasai also nodded.

Naru nodded and continued on.

"What do you think of Mai?"

Mai spilled the water she was drinking but managed to stay silent as Naru's glare was on her.

"She is kind and friendly" kasai quickly commented.

"Well behaved"

"How about her intuition? She claimed that kasai-san was innocent" Naru pressed on. Mai was hiding her face.

"Mai..." Kasai had tears in her eyes, Mai smiled reassuringly to her. Masako rolled her eyes.

"I wouldn't know if is good or not" the teacher commented, kasai gasped at her. She doubted her.

Naru smirked at his notebook. "I will also like to confirm something. Ubusuna-sensei, what school did you graduated from?"

"I graduated from a local university in my home town" she blinked her eyes.

"If I remember correctly you're from Fukushima prefecture, right?"

"That's right" she held her bag closer.

"You came to Tokyo for the first time after you became a teacher, correct?"

"Yes that's correct"

"I got it now. Thank you for your help. I think I can now solve the mystery of the problems happening at your school" he closed his black notebook satisfied.

"Excuse me, what do you mean by solve?" Kasai-san asked

Naru explained the situation of the zuso and the hitogatas to that, kasai reacted.

"Then the reason you called us here is because you're trying to say that I am the Jusha?" Her voice wavered and she was nearly crying.

"No way. Kasai-san you're innocent. The Jusha is Ubusuna-sensei"

Everyone turned to look at the teacher, the small fake smile was on her face.

"No, that can't be" kasai cried out. Jumping in her feet to deny it strongly.

Mai gasped. Something cold was pressed against her neck.

"Mai!" The Monk shouted nearly breaking in to a run but the scalpel was pressed even strongly against her neck. Making a tin line of blood run down from it.

"Stop" Ubusuna-sensei made Mai stand with her. Kasai stepped aside from shock. "How did you know?"

Naru glared but complied "kasai-san knew the first victim Murayama-san" Kasai nodded to Naru's words and he continued to explain himself "if she knew the person who sat at that desk, she wouldn't need to place it on the desk for any random person to sit there and get cursed. She could had placed it directly on Murayama-san name. That means the Jusha didn't know the name of the first victim"

"I could had asked anyone else for her name" Ubusuna narrowed her eyes for the rest to step away from the door.

"At that time many people didn't want to associate with you and kasai-san"

*Tch* she clicked her tongue and turned to glare at him. "It still wouldn't make sense"

"Then why would the Jusha place a zuso on Mai and me?" Naru narrowed his eyes to Mai. She was too quiet. "Both of you thought I was an onmyouji and I heard kasai-san doesn't really talk with anyone else other than you, and Mai"

"That's not enough" she growled, had she revealed herself way too early?

Naru sighed "my name. I didn't reveal my full name to anyone else other than the principal. And the principal didn't know Mai's name. Even kasai-san didn't. She couldn't had asked the principal for information. As far as I can tell you are the only one that could have been the Jusha"

"How about my motives then?" Ubusuna looked pleased now.

Naru smirked and explained that both of them were treated poorly enough to cause a desire to curse. He also brought her incident 20 years ago when she was one of the 'Gellerini' and was caught cheating

That's when her mask fell off. "But I really could do it! There were times when I couldn't, but that journalist made me nervous so I... I didn't had anyone to tell me it was okay to say when I couldn't. Not like kasai-san. No one was there for me"

"For you it was unfortunate that it happened when it did. Because at that time Japan depended on the media to decide the legitimacy of ESP. there was no proper research organization nor there were proper test to determine your psychic ability" Naru sat down "the paparazzis were more interested in creating a sensation rather than presenting the Truth"

"I just wanted to protect Kasai-san ability as much as I could but then everyone turned against us. They criticized both of us without control... I couldn't stand it so I had to make them see that supernatural exist"

"That's why you did it?" Mai asked her voice low.

"That's right, in life there are things that take more than science to be understood"

"They could had died, a curse can't be taken that lightly" Mai's hands became fists.

"It would be unfortunate, but if that were to happen people would finally start to realize about it"

The room felt heavy. Lin was the only one that didn't seemed on edge.

"You lost yourself" Mai grabbed the scalpel with her hand and elbow hit her stomach. "You forgot what's most important as a human"

Bou-san and John quickly held her against the wall. Naru nodded to John who looked unsure of his actions

"Takigawa, call the principal and let him know she would be needing a counselor"

"Eh? Shouldn't we call the cops?" He was surprised

"That wouldn't solve anything rather it would anger her further"

"Are you going to treat me like a sick person? How rude! You're a parapsychologists too!" She tried to struggle. But stopped when Naru held his had up.

"You know very well that for zuso, it takes both physical and emotional energy. You should rest"

Ubusuna stopped fighting and admitted she was tired. This time a real smile grace her lips.

...

Mai simply turned around and was about to leave but Ayako grabbed her arm.

"I just need some air. I can't stand this place for long" she was still trembling and so Ayako protested.

"Hmph let her leave, the ghosts here are too curious of her" Masako commented looking annoyed.

Mai smiled awkwardly to her. There was no need to let them know about that. Naru raised an eyebrow but sighed a second after.

"Everyone you're dismissed. You can go home. Tomorrow morning meet us at the office, I'm sure you have a lot of questions but until then, keep them to yourself" Naru ordered his poker face on but Mai could tell he was tired as well.

When Masako was rejected from staying... everyone went home.

* * *

I was going to make Ubusuna more crazy but Mai had enough already xD

I love reading your thoughts on what Mai may be. It makes me think of the reason you think that is... but so far only one of is near it. Remember the clue, she is human!

Review time!

K-Ramel974: thank you for reviewing and nope! Although her ability does look like one a saint or goddess could have.

Kallen21! It's here!

Sp00pyGhost: well she is getting better! Using her ability that is xD her body will recover soon enough ;D

Karibel. : creo q nunca terminara El ataque de ansias jajaja. Y ya vienen, Los estoy poniendo Al sol (los chiles)

Mortisvenom: want another cup of wine? ;3

Guest: I will! Even when I finish the LN and manga stories. The main fanfiction story will rise! Look forward to it ;)

CaitHawke4Ever: I loved the coin scene! It was a must! Glad you loved the change and Lin does respect her now but at the same time he feels sadness, you will see soon why! You're on the right track! Not completely right but close enough! Think about it as a level higher than that. What do you think would that be?( Perfect medium aside.) They belong to each other that's for sure!


	20. Chapter 20

Hello there! Guess what I'm still trying to get a job. My old one said that I was welcome to return but that they didn't have an opening yet. So I'm pretty much depressed xD but look at me, reading manga and writing stuff. I can't even sleep due to my thoughts so this is most likely an escape of my reality. When I start to work I know for sure it's going to be hard on me.

* * *

As usual Mai was the last one to get to the office. This time however Naru didn't complain about it. She looked so pale and sick that it was a wonder how she nearly made it on time.

Greeting everyone she faked a smile and apologized for being late. When she offered them tea or coffee they refused due to the condition of her hands but when she insisted on making it. Ayako helped her out.

Naru's mood improved when he sipped his tea.

"In many ways, this was a tough case" Ayako sighed looking at Mai's hands. She fixed her bandages while the others agreed with her.

"It sure was" John looked sad

"Let's not worry about it. What's done is done"

"Matsuzaki-san you're such an optimist" Masako brought her kimono sleeve to cover her lips.

"What did you just said? I can't believe you!"

"Enough. Mai" Naru called out and the rest shut up

"..."

"Yes... Boss?" She looked like a scared rabbit

He sighed and put a device on the table in front of her. Lin came over and connected the device to his laptop and handled it to Naru. He then went to the wall and watched from a far. A serious expression on his face. His blobs were vigilant beside him and didn't make a move to come greet Mai. It was strange but she didn't comment on it. Instead she turned to look at Naru with her head tilting to her right. Asking slightly for an explanation.

"I need you to participate in a quick experiment" he looked at her hands briefly before pointing at the device "one of the four lights will light up each time on it's on. You need to guess which light will light up next and push the button first. Okay?"

She nodded but asked anyway "what's this all about?"

"It's a psy-ability test"

Her eyes grew wide "why would you want me to do this? Is not like 'he' messed me up so bad you know?"

Naru glared at her to shut up. "Let's start"

"Yes sir" she sat up straight and made a ponytail with her long hair. Once she was done. The device turned on.

"This one!" She pushed the button and a negative sound could be heard.

"False!" The Monk laughed out loud

She pressed again but it was the same. "Oops that's too bad" snickering Ayako joined in teasing her.

"What's next Jou-chan?" A goofy smile grew on Bou-san's face.

"Ugh! I can't catch up with it! This thing is really fast!"

The negative sound tormented her as she worked herself out. She was sweating

"Fire koma Mai!"

"Ugh!"

"You will never get it right"

"Well no matter how much you bark, it won't get better"

"It's all right Mai-chan, you can do it" John cheered her up. It caused tears to form on her eyes but she kept pushing buttons and it didn't seem to improve.

"Uuugh"

"At least behave more ladylike" Masako looked annoyed at her.

Both Lin and Naru simply narrowed their eyes.

"Uuuugh"

...

By the end of it. Mai was crying on John's shoulder. She had tired herself up and couldn't keep up with her act. Her hands were burning.

Bou-san however clapped. "How impressive. You missed them all. You're a genius" he had a pretty surprised face.

"I want to go home"

John gave her a pat on her head and slightly push her away so she could drink the tea that Ayako offered her.

Lin had walked next to Naru and both of them picked up the results. They checked them over until both of them turned to each other and nodded. Lin picked his laptop and went back to his office. The results and device were taken by Naru to his office. When he came back. Ayako was changing her bandages.

It took him a second to notice that they had blood on them. He narrowed his eyes a frown forming slightly on his face.

Masako noticed this and asked out loud "if the experiment results turned out to be negative, then, does that mean that Taniyama-san does not possess psychic abilities?"

That brought attention to him and he had to put his poker face on.

"On the contrary. It proves Mai has latent sensitivity"

"Huuh? Sensitive Mai? Like 'delicate' and 'emotional'?" The Miko called out in laughter

Naru crossed his arms and sighed "sensitivity. She has extrasensory perception. ESP a person with preternatural power"

"WHAT?" A choir of disbelief echoed

Mai simply looked like her soul was leaving her body through her mouth and said soul was looking dumb. In a comical way.

Naru rolled his eyes. "That would explain why she sometimes has good intuition although she's usually dumb. Perhaps her various intuitions during this case weren't just coincidence."

She was brought back to reality with that and she couldn't help but blink as she tried to recall it.

Naru continued "out of 1000 lans she scored 0. When you have a 1000 chances you should get a certain amount of correct answers based on probability. The number of correct answers a normal person should get is 25% that means if you score above or below 25% you will be abnormal"

"Ugh" Mai pressed her head against the arm chair. She had this since little then? What 'he' messed up was part of it but not entirely.

"Then why wasn't she useful in the past cases?" Ayako questioned

"Excuse me! I did my part with the wounded" Mai called out offended.

"Well a part from that. I thought Mai's intuition was pretty good. Remember she had that weird dream in the last case, at the Morishita residence? When she was down in the well? I wonder if she was dreaming of the family's past"

"Sounds like post-cognition" John commented, surprised at that fact

"She also knew the names of the ghost kids and more than once she had pulled away someone from danger, specially with the first case the one with Kuroda"

"Monk-san you're very observant" Naru looked pleased.

Mai just swallowed her tea. Was it her imagination or now she had a heavy burden on her shoulders?

"Mai is extraordinary sensitive to outside objects that are harmful. She has a self defense instinct just like animals"

"Huh?" Mai sounded insulted, that tone of voice...

"She has the ability to distinguish between friend and foe. It basically means her appearance may be human but her mind is like a wild animal"

At that everyone began to laugh. Lin got out of his office just in time.

"Perhaps she has an invisible antenna on her head "

"Wait that will make her a bug"

A vein popped behind her head. "Naru..."

She raised her hand to him and Lin instantly stood in between.

Silence instantly unfolded on the office.

"Taniyama-san" Lin's voice wavered.

Naru raised an eyebrow.

"It's alright Lin-san, I will go easy on him. Please move or I will make you move" she smiled sweetly at him and his blobs hid behind him.

Reluctantly he stepped out.

Naru stepped back, he didn't know why but he had a bad feeling.

"Mai, that was just an example. You can tell them about me bending the spoon I don't care"

"I pinky swore on that beside you broke it not bended it" Mai stepped in but Lin reacted to the spoon comment.

"You did what?"

"No I... Well I understood, no I meant I know it" his Japanese was messy...

"No, you definitely don't get it" Lin roared, seeing that Mai kinda calmed down and was about to back away but suddenly Lin called out to her.

"I will be held responsible. Do continue"

She didn't want to do it anymore but she couldn't refuse Lin so she simply did it.

"...cry"

"Huh?" Naru touched his face. Tears were dropping. He was amazed for a second before he panicked. It's true that he hasn't cried since a long time ago but he couldn't stop them.

Lin had a smirk on his face while the rest simply let a sigh of relief from their lips. She had done that when her body was shining yesterday. However it was for mere seconds.

"What did you do? Mai!" He had covered his face with a hand but his voice had both anger and amazement.

"Figure it out by yourself jerk! I said I was human. But there you go labeling me as an animal."

"I understand, It was my mistake and that's not my final answer so stop this"

"Just so you know, I can only make that last for 3 seconds. You're crying because you want"

At that he reacted with a glare. His ears were red and Lin gave him something to wipe himself as he whispered a 'i will overlook it this time, because you cried "'

Naru didn't know what to feel. Relief or indignation, which was best?

He chose the first one. He could finally cry for the dead of his brother without fear.

Monk cleared his throat "i have a question regarding the case... How did Ubusuna-sensei knew your family name Mai?" Thanks to him the office returned to normal.

"Oh when she came to check on Naru she asked for my family name before leaving" Mai held her head. A headache already forming.

"Then... How did Naru knew you told her that? I don't remember you saying that other than Naru's will o wisps"

"I told him" Lin commented "when I went to look for them, I checked in the biology room and Ubusuna-san was alone. When I asked if she had seen you. she herself said she hadn't seen Shibuya-san nor Taniyama-san"

Monk nodded. "Then what about the spoon thing? Is that how Naru-bou convinced kasai-san?"

Mai nodded and Naru sighed as he stood from his place. Everyone was giving him the 'I want to see face' he cleared his face and put on the poker face.

"I will remember this Mai"

She stuck her tongue out and pulled the skin under her eye in a childlike manner.

Taking a spoon he brought it in front of him. Lin called out to him but he simply said he was going to demonstrate and when he did. It was just a trick that Bou-san knew. It was made by using the palm of the hand to support the spoon. That way it was easy to bend it by the force of a finger.

When Bou-san revealed it. Everyone turned out to be disappointed. It didn't take long for them to leave and Mai was even invited to go out to eat but since she felt sick she refused.

Perhaps it wasn't the best idea.

She cleaned the mess done by the rest and soon realized Naru was looking at her intensively. His red eyes were back to normal.

"Um... Another cup Naru?" She pointed at his empty cup and he nodded. When she reached for it. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. The table was separating them but Mai was close enough for him to bite her ear lobe.

"Wha- Naru?!"

She pulled away and blushed.

He smirked and crossed his legs "that's pay back"

"What? I haven't bite you!' she glared at him

"I'm sure you did, after you barked my name just moments ago"

'barked? What? No wait'

"You're calling me a dog!?" She stepped away "then what you did was..." He had bite her in order to show dominance.

She was furious! He was implying that he was her master.

"You still thinking about it? How slow can you be?" Naru raised an eyebrow.

She raised her hand to him. This time he looked amused. His scientist self was on. He wanted to see what else she could do.

But instead of doing it. Mai simply smiled and picked her stuff up.

He frowned.

"Mai-" he didn't have the chance to tease her longer and make her use that on him. She had cut him off. "I'm going home, I can't waste time with perverts"

"What..." Well he reasoned. He did looked like he lost a screw. But a pervert?

...

That night Mai had a nightmare, she woke up to the sound of a boy saying. "I'm not a dog" ' I feel ya bro. I'm not dog either' she blamed Naru for that nightmare. That voice had gone on and on in her dream as she saw a dusty desk. What a strange dream. Because it had annoyed her she labeled it as a nightmare.

* * *

Hahaha I couldn't resist the similarities of being called an animal and a dog. I simply had to connect Naru becoming an M? Well see, mostly it's seems he is finally getting a chance to feel human again.

Ah I really wish I could make a little bit of money with fanfictions. I do have fun making them.

Well I do have a YouTube channel... It's called Anime-addict fan I recently posted a video on Japanese verbs but I only had 3 views... Can any of you check the speed drawings just to spread love? I'm embarrassed with me explaining Japanese but I thought it would help someone. My channel has an angel with wings and a cat that I made in 2014. XD and my profile pic is a lady hugging a cat I made that in 2017 or so...

Thank you so much for the reviews and faves I will continue to improve!

Kallen21: I present this with love!

Mortisvenom: you're certainly right! Who needs cups or glasses? We have the finest vintage we can drink from the bottle and it would still look fancy! Pinky out and there you go(Laughs crazily to oneself) hope the wait was worth it!

Guest: straight up from the oven! I cooked it up really tasty!

Karibel. : ahhh la addiction esta en mi nombre! No hay escapatoria! XD

CaitHawke4Ever: thank you! I will make her strong so when she falls will be more meaningful. Yup I enjoyed getting her out and I totally forgot the magazine. Ups! The plant looked pretty easy to guess so I didn't add it and now that the explanation is over. Did you see what I meant with a level higher than that? Can you guess now? :S


	21. Chapter 21

Well here I am, no job yet but still applying.

On another note, no one visited my speed drawings videos.. oh well thanks for reading then, I will soon publish a webtoon, maybe you can take a look at it? I promise that it will get your attention, in the first chapter. I haven't posted it cause I'm making it till chapter 3. I will let the name be know once I'm done. Enjoy

* * *

It only took that single word for Naru to turn back into the cold hearted and narcissist jerk. The word 'pervert'

Mai smiled to herself, he brought it upon himself. opening the newspaper she read the title that was the most catching one. It was a bold headline that announced: "35 Students Suffer Mass Hysteria"

That incident occured the day before in a public high school in Chiba. Apparantly, a student complaint during class that his foot had been bitten by a black dog that could not be seen by the naked eye. Subsequently that caused a large uproar.

"Ah..." She had already seen articles regarding that same school, 'Ryokuryou High School' it has appeared in the news many times in the past week. She sat down on her desk and began to mumble in a low tone. "someone was bitten by a black dog and caused a commotion in the classroom."

She blinked twice. "Although the teacher could not see it, students claim to have been bitten and caused a rukus. Furthermore, amongst those who claim to have been bitten, some have what appears to be wounds caused by a dog bite or something similar." She turned the page over and continued mumbling ""It was explained as mass hysteria. 'We believe that due to the spate of recent inexplicable occurences in the same school, some aggitated students experienced mild hysteria, and spread the hysteria to other students.' " she slammed the newspaper down, that was a ridiculous reason and for them to say it like that was even more-

She clenched her head, the headache was still present. She had healed her hands yesterday since working that way was a pain.

'couldn't you wait another day to heal yourself?' Gene sat on her desk.

'no, I have an upcoming math test, I need to practice' she growled before taking some chocolates out of her bag.

'heh' he made a wry smile

She glared at him 'don't start, I will literally kick your butt if you open your mouth. I already told you that I won't ask him for help'

'fine, then let me borrow your body. I need to talk to him'

'... Kay, just don't play pranks, I don't want to deal with that right now'

'sure~'

"..."

...

"Sup bro!" Gene barged into Naru's office.

"... At least knock will you?" All the maps he had in his hands were on the floor.

"Don't wanna, btw have you seen the news? Mai-chan was making a fuss about it"

Naru rolled his eyes as he picked up the mess he made.

"Aren't you interested? You can get a lot of data from there, and the principal came right? Why did you rejected the offer?"

"You know very well why, I try to avoid cases that may potentially attract mass media... What do you want Gene?"

"Oh someone is in a bad mood, but you're right" stepping closer Gene rolled the newspaper that he had brought from Mai's desk, and without a warning he smacked Naru on the head. "If you use that again without thinking I will call mom"

"Why you... "

"I know, it was an emergency but you risked both your life and Mai-chan's. You better think things through, that's what you're best for"

"I didn't had time to think about it and if I hadn't done that Mai.." Naru suddenly stopped talking.

Gene sighed "last time, alright, no more chances. Stop worrying Mai over you"

Before Naru could reply to him, he left Mai's body to sit on couch.

A moment later Mai woke up, her headache was worse than before.

"..."

"..."

Neither of them said anything. She slowly stood up, but just as soon as she took a step, her legs gave up.

Naru instantly caught her. One hand on her hips was all it took to stop her fall. She blushed at the proximity they held. His hand laid on her hip while the rest of his arm supported her back, just then Lin got out of his office.

He frowned, then raised an eyebrow but Mai didn't answer and instead looked away. The blobs were dancing on the background.

With a tomato red face, she sent strength to her legs and quickly distanced herself from her boss. Lin stared in question at Naru who simply rolled his eyes.

Mai used the opportunity and stuffed her cheeks with candy, accidents happen, it was normal, she would survive. ' but why does my back feels hot?'

Thankfully, the sound of the bell distracted her and work mode, turned on. She greeted him and presented her boss. He looked shocked for a moment but recovered in a time record.

"I am the student council president of Ryokuryou High School, Yasuhara Osamu. This -" He retrieved a stack of papers from his bag and handed it to Naru. "I have collected the student's petition. I represent the entire student body to ask a favour of you."

Yasuhara folded his tall body and bowed deeply to Naru. "Please accept our principal's request."

"Regarding this situation, I have already refused your principal yesterday."

Yasuhara looked directly at Naru.

"I know. I already know of your rejection. Despite that, I still would like to ask for your help." He said seriously. "Just as you know, the situation in school is really serious. But what worries everyone the most is the media's attention. At first it was just some wild rumours; recently the situation has escalated such that people are getting hurt. If this continues, who knows what might happen. Please, help us."

Mai remembered having read about an empty locker catching fire, even when teachers were taking watch. No wonder he was serious about it, someone can be burned or die from an injury... if things continued that way, the media would jump up on the opportunity. They already made a highlight of a boy commiting suicide, it was just a matter of time.

Naru considered a moment, and replied, "To tell the truth, I am really interested in the situation in Ryokuryou High School. However, I would prefer to avoid the media's attention."

Mai blinked, it was a weird excuse, but it had a reasonable argument. The media liked to exaggerated topics.

"I understand where you are coming from. Right now, I am one of many who is troubled by this situation. Therefore I truly hope that the situation can be resolved as soon as possible. "Currently, horrifying rumours are all over school. We all feel unsettled and insecure, and the atmosphere is gloomy. That petition..."

Yasuhara eyed the petition lying on the table. "This was collected, just this morning between when I heard of your rejection of our principal's request and before I left school, to ask that you reconsider. It only took about half a day. Despite the short time we collected so many signatures." With this, he bowed yet again. "We really need you help. Please - you must help us."

".." Naru closed his eyes... Thought about it for a while and sighed softly.

"Mai, give Ryokuryou High School a call."

Both Yasuhara and Mai turned to smile at each other

"Tell the principal, if he has yet to decide on a substitute investigator, we will accept his request."

Mai nodded and Naru stood up then went to his office. She saw Yasuhara off and did as was told.

Just as soon as she hanged up, her nightmare came to her mind "I'm not a dog" to distract herself she prepared tea and went to ask who else of the regulars did Naru want to call.

* * *

Well as you know prologues can't be changed that much xD

Gene is jelly.

Kallen21: a little bit short but here you go!

Karibel. : gracias! Por un poquito y lo hago muy oc pero con este chapter ya vimos q se arreglo xD

Mortisvenom: yeah Naru has to work on that or else Gene will keep smacking him xD. Mai is just so easy to tease... XD

CaitHawke4Ever: don't worry about it I purposely let her be ambiguous. More clues will come! Yush I will continue to add spices! And correct muahahahah a perfect spice can be added in this case.

Sp00pyGhost: yush! Hahahahahahah well right now he is a bit too serious, but not for long


	22. Chapter 22

It appears that I landed a job, I start training on Monday. However the campaign I wished to join haven't replied back to me. I pray that it will! I can't be picky on the jobs opportunities but I seriously wish for the other campaign to contact me.

Well since that's the case you know that I may not be able to update that much until I get used to my work. I'm sorry and it appears that I will go ahead and post the prologue of my weebtoon rather than do 3 chapters on the go. I haven't decided thou.

* * *

Monk was waiting at the entrance of the school when the SPR car arrived. Naru was first to get down followed by a stoic Lin and a sleepy looking Mai.

Said brunette narrowed her eyes to the school, it felt... Nasty. She wrinkle her nose, and tried to get a second look at it

"What?" Naru asked her, he couldn't read her expression, it was just too different than the usual ones

"I... This place is... " She was cut short by a chill, it gave her goosebumps. 'that was definitely a heart beat of something'

"Mai?"

"Ah" realizing she hadn't finish her sentence, she quickly corrected herself and continued. "This place is haunted... But it doesn't feel like usual, Well I'm not sure but something is off. It may be a secondary effect as well for over using 'that'"

"Can you see them?"

"About that... No, I can only feel them"

"..."

"Yo~ something wrong Jou-chan?" Monk came over to greet them.

"Nope, I can't wait for the rest to come tomorrow"

"I rather not meet with the old hag if you ask me"

Mai just giggled but just as soon as they went to the reception. Her mood turned sour.

The teacher that took them to the principal's office was awful and the principal was even worse. His attitude was incredibly arrogant, his tone very impolite. Furthermore, although he requested SPR to do an investigation, he did not trust them and made no attempt to hide it.

But the finishing blow was the guidance teacher Matsuyama-sensei.

"Are you the head?" he asked Naru as he brought them to the meeting room that was to be the headquarters of their investigation.

With a judgemental look he continued "All this commotion about spirits - there's nothing more nonsensical and stupid." Glaring at them one by one until his gaze landed on Naru again. "Just how old are you anyway?"

"Seventeen."

"What about Senior High?"

"Please use your own imagination."

Matsuyama-sensei snorted in laughter at that and turned his head to look at Mai. "And you?"

"Sixteen. First year of Senior High."

"Don't you have school today? Playing truant, aren't you? Where's your school? Let's hear it."

"I have already been granted permission by my school." She had her business smile on, she wasn't going to risk it, that man could call in to her school and cause trouble. Nevertheless his glare intensified.

"It's a really leniently managed school, to be so lax." He went as far as making a comment on fraudulent neo religions where girls were implicated in malicious situations, all the while referring to them.

Naru stayed quiet and when Mai just had about enough, it was Bou-san that slapped his face with a well detailed argument which gave no room for debate, it fully explained the lack of knowledge Matsuyama-sensei possessed and the ignorance he had for assimilating the neo religions with the New Rising religions.

" Sensei might have only been slightly misinformed; but if you are really unaware, I can enlighten you. Even though you are an educator; to allow you to persist in your misunderstanding is unthinkable."

Instantly, Matsuyama was speechless but soon began to tell at him, saying stuff like, with his messy appearance both he and Mai, will end up in the wrong path, it didn't matter anymore about the religious beliefs.

"Is it here?"

Naru pointed to a door; above the door hung a sign, "Meeting Room". Interrupting his rant.

"Yes."

Matsuyama said as he violently opened the door.

"..."

When the door opened, student council president Yasuhara was waiting for them inside. He rose upon seeing Naru. "I've been waiting for a long time."

Naru nodded in greeting towards Yasuhara. Matsuyama spoke up. "Yasuhara, don't you need to be in class?"

"The third year's class time has already been greatly reduced."

"No problems with exams?"

"Please do not worry." Yasuhara was clearly forcing his expression.

slightly put off, Matsuyama sat heavily on the chair. "Now what? What do you do first?" He smiled sarcastically "Start a fire, and then chant scriptures?" But his presence was ignored.

"How shall we start our investigation now?" Bou-san asked.

Naru glanced at his watch. "Let's start by seeking out students involved in the various incidents to understand the situation."

Naru turned to Mai and ordered her. "Ignore the case of the small fires. Go and look for the students involved in the other three incidents."

'how am I supposed to do that?' but before she could reply Yasuhara cut in.

"Let me do it."

"That would be much faster. Thanks."

"Sure." Yasuhara then winked at Mai She smiled in return, grateful for the help.

Naru simply rolled his eyes and then bowed slightly to Matsuyama. Who watched them from his chair "Thank you very much for your help. Sensei may return to your office. We do not require further assistance."

"That won't do. It is my job to manage students. These supposed students may not leave the field of vision of the teacher." Yasuhara's expression hardened with anger. Naru, still expressionless, calmly continued.

"Anyone involved in these incidents is considered our client. We need to maintain the privacy of our clients."

"Do children have any privacy to speak of?"

'this jerk! Oh hohoho' a vein popped behind Mai's head but an idea made her lips curve up on an evil smile.

"Regardless of age, clients are clients. Now please leave."

"Do you mean to say you will be inconvenienced by my presence?"

Once again it was Bou-san that slapped his face with words. He said that since it was the principal that requested their help, he should complain to him not them.

Matsuyama's face was crimson with anger. He straightened his back and looked like he had something to say, but only creased his lips in disapproval and stood up. Hastily he left the meeting room and fired his parting shot as he stalked through the doorway.

"Do as you please. Whatever happens at the end of the day is the principal's responsibility!"

As soon as he slammed the door, Mai held her hand up and twisted it back.

Suddenly his voice from the other side of the door could be heard, he had exclaimed for the bathroom and his running faded with the distance.

Both Lin and the Monk raised their thumbs up, while Naru just sighed but she swears his lips twitched a little.

"The nerve he has! This is what they call 'the loud barking of a defeated dog!" She put her hands on her hips still facing the door.

Yasuhara burst out laughing while Bou-san corrected her "it's howling, not loud barking Mai."

She blushed, the Monk made a slight pray in the background in order for her to be illuminated.

"Taniyama-san is really funny" called out Yasuhara as he recovered a bit.

"..." She blushed in embarrassment

"But to be honest, I was eagerly anticipating when Naru's poison tongue would make its appearance." The Monk pouted.

Naru gently shrugged his shoulders, wearing that godly expression of his. "It's meaningless to preach to a pig." He said with great gravity.

"Ooh" a chorus was made

"Yasuhara-kun, could I trouble you to have the people involved gather here. Could you send them here in order?"

"Yes. Leave it to me." Yasuhara nodded and sprinted out of the meeting room.

...

The first persons Yasuhara brought in were a group of girls. They were the girls involved in the mass absenteeism, from class 2-5.

...

Naru opened his notebook. "Please tell us how the incident occurred."

One of the girls bobbed her head. Clearing her throat, she said: "Spirits appeared in the LL classroom. Then, we were afraid and refused to attend class. Even though we told the teacher, we would only get scolded. There was no other choice except for us to all take leave from school."

"What type of spirits appeared in the LL classroom?"

"It was a child, a little boy." She also confirmed having seen it personally. "It started with the voices. When I played a tape that I previously recorded, I realized there was some sound I hadn't heard before in the background. I thought it was the voice of a child."

She denied understanding what the voice said and as she continued she grew even paler. "It was then that I saw it. It was touching my leg" she began to tremble as she went into detail "There's barely any space under the table for a child. Although that's the way it should be, there really was a child there, just kneeling under the table. "

Naru nodded in response and asked the rest if they had similar encounters. Most of them had, while the others only heard the voice. He also asked if there were others that had seen or heard the child and they all agreed that other classes have a fair share of the same stories.

"Finally, have you heard of the other incidents that have happened in the school? "

The group looked at each other, and it was the first girl that responded once again with a hardened expression.

"They say Sakauchi-kun has appeared in school."

"And this Sakauchi-kun is?"

"A first year student who died in September."

"Then more recently, there have been new Seven Wonders..." The other girls started speaking.

"Yeah, that's been there for ages. The rumors have increased, not about that, there are new stories."

One of the girls started counting off on her fingers. "First, 'The Unopenable Safe'. Following that, 'The Dismembered Human Model'. And then there was, 'The Man Who Jumped'. A man appeared to jump from the school's roof, but on closer look, there was no one... next was..."

"'The Old Man of the Furnace', when the lid of the furnace was opened, the face of an old man appeared inside. 'The Reversed Mirror'."

"Oh, yes. Doesn't the mirror in the gym's toilet often show reflections of objects that are in reverse?"

"And 'The Geography Room'? When it was cleaned, the fluorescent light fell."

"Eh? What about 'Footsteps in the Chemistry Lab' there's that, right?" "

And 'The Sickbay'? The second to the last bed would suddenly appear to have been slept in." Everyone reported various strange incidents, and the meeting room became very noisy.

Naru had everyone quiet down. "Thank you everyone. We will investigate the situation properly."

...

Another group came in. In it were 8 males and one female. This was the group that try to do an exorcism.

"My classroom is located in the East Block. This supposed "East Block" is basically made up of special classrooms, like the chemistry lab etc. The room neighboring my classroom is the Music Preparation Room. It is used to store musical instruments. Strange sounds came from there."

"And these strange sounds are..."

"Sounds of things being dragged on the floor; and the noises were loud and clear. The teacher also appeared to hear it and went next door to check, but said there was no one there. Next was the LL classroom were the voice of a boy could be heard but I haven't heard it, I, however was present when the the bulb of the fluorescent light dropped down. Or rather, the fluorescent tube. It injured a lot of students"

Naru nodded.

"And besides that there were the fires; everyone says they started last autumn. More accurately, they started since that first year student committed suicide. I'm convinced all these are linked, but the school does not take any action."

"So you decided to take matters into your own hands?"

"Yes. Because if we leave things as they are, who knows how many people would be hurt the next time? The teachers are useless. If it were us, we might be able to do something. Unlike what the news and tv claims, we are not entirely certain that these incidents are the fault of Sakauchi-kun; but to take no action? With no action we would never know if it was good or bad, so..."

"So it was like that."

"Do you happened to have met Sakauchi-kun?"

"No. I only knew of his existence after the incident."

"It looked like he left a suicide note... do you know of the details?"

"Yes. It was famous instantly: 'I'm not a dog'."

Mai froze up on the spot. His voice from her nightmare replayed.

When they were asked what they thought it meant, they said that they could even relate to it. Since they felt limited by the rules of the school.

Afterwards they continue to share the rest of experiences with the paranormal they had, but Mai couldn't concentrate. She felt the boy standing beside her, smiling as if he was enjoying himself.

Bou-san, looking frustrated, had given up taking notes midway. No one had paid attention to Mai and she, herself was unable to even open her mouth. Gene was nowhere to be seen and although her senses weren't screaming for danger, she knew well that smile. It was just like the one Ubusuna-sensei had.

After this group left, the next group was represented by Miyasaki Masayo-san. This group had claimed to have been bitten by the black dog. She had a bandage on her foot.

She scanned the room, frightened, before slowly starting to speak.

"Starting this autumn, strange things have been happening in our class. That is... we heard strange sounds; like the whining of a dog, with "he... he..." like breathing sounds. It was very discomforting. Then... who knows when... people started getting leg wounds. That was about December. It was just like being bitten by a dog, there were even bite marks."

"Is that victim currently here?" Naru scanned the group. A frail looking male student had raised his hand.

"What was the situation?"

"That is, while many described hearing the dog's sounds, I have never heard it, and I thought they were only lies. Then one day during class I suddenly felt pain in my foot. It was a sudden spike of pain. I examined my foot after class and found a bite mark. As I was wearing long pants it wasn't a big deal, there was only a little blood; there were also puncture holes through the uniform."

"After that incident similar incidents would occasionally occur, but no one ever saw the dog... until recently..."

"Nearly everyone in the class saw the dog?"

They all nodded and even claimed that the teacher saw it but lied in his report. He had fled with them and was very scared about it.

"At first we thought it was a fox and not a dog"

"Why?"

"For a period of time, it was very popular to play Kokkuri-san (summoning Fox Spirit) in our school. Because of that, we thought it was a fox doing the haunting. All this while, until we saw the dog, everyone believed it was just a fox."

Naru's expression turned solemn.

"Our school is managed very strictly; if we were caught the punishment would be severe. Everyone was playing in secret, it was really popular."

They claimed that almost all the students had played it.

At that Sakauchi-kun burst out laughing. Lin blobs reacted, two of them slowly made their way to her but they passed beside him, they didn't notice him.

Lin turned around but just then, the last group entered. The one with the food poisoning incident. He however noticed Mai's uncomfortable look, he noticed how she was sweating as well.

Student Council President Yasuhara showed in six students, and seated himself too

"That is to say Yasuhara was also one of the victims?"

Yasuhara smiled at Naru's question. "Yes. I am also one of the 'students with weak constitutions'. Whatever the question, fire away."

"In that case, let me ask your representative, Yasuhara. What are the details?"

"Perhaps you already know from reading the newspapers, the incident occurred on the 18th of December, Monday, at 2pm in the middle of class. Nearly half the class collapsed, to be precise there were 19 persons. "

Naru confirmed he knew by nodding.

"At the beginning of class there was already a male student who felt nauseous. Just as he deliberated leaving the class, suddenly there appeared many others saying the same thing. I was wondering what was going on, when I too suddenly felt unwell. From the start of the class, I had thought that the air in the classroom was somehow bad. There was a strange stench; we opened the windows; but we continued to discuss what the source of the smell was so everyone was restless during break, that's why that made an impression."

"So it was like that. Do you know of the cause?"

"No. When the furnace burns wrong, one's mood is affected, although it isn't that big a deal; it a similar type of feeling. I have previously eaten raw food and experienced food poisoning, and it felt totally different from this incident. This incident had nothing to do with food poisoning. Furthermore, the school uses air conditioning, hence eliminating the possibility of a gas leak."

"Does this stench persist in the classroom?"

Yasuhara nodded. "We are all numb to it so we are not sure if it is still there, but even now one can smell slight traces of that stench. When students from other classes visit our classroom, they would all ask, 'what's this odor?' "And there are times when the smell would suddenly become overwhelming. After that incident, there were also instances when the teacher first felt unwell. About 7 or 8 times since it first started"

"Were there any victims?"

Yasuhara shook his head. "No. Or rather... Initially I did not believe this was a supernatural phenomenon. Our classroom is on the first floor; below... I mean what was further beneath, that is, in the stratum there is a pool of bad gas, was what I hypothesized to be the reason. However, Eda..."

Yasuhara turned back to look at the male next to him. "This fellow would scatter salt whenever the stench grew strong. After doing so the foul smell would suddenly vanish. What the heck, if it was explained as a natural phenomenon, that would be really weird."

Naru asked Eda why he did that and he answered that they often did it at funerals so he thought it was worth to try...

'pfff' a new set of giggles left Sakauchi-kun. Lin narrowed his eyes as the blobs fled to Mai. One landed on her shoulder, growling to her surroundings. Sakauchi-kun turned to look at her. His interest was picked.

She closed her eyes as goosebumps ran through her body, she was still stuck in place. Unable to move, just like sleep paralysis...

Naru nodded to Eda. "What about the series of fires that happened before the mass absenteeism. What do you feel about that?"

"I can't recall the exact date; the first fire was around the middle of October. At first I thought it was started by some mischievous fellow or other who used fire carelessly. Then 10 days later there was another fire. At that time the teachers were getting a little nervous, the perpetrator was still unknown. And then the next... "

"12 days later?"

"Yes. To call it an accident would be too strange, and there were those who said it was not arson. The teachers had apparently increased their guard, but 12 days later the fire still happened. Although the teachers had diligently patrolled (the school), they still could not identify the perpetrator."

"And there was yet another fire 12 days later?"

"Yes. Then they even used the special locks boys' schools use, although now they no longer bother. But still there was a fire. At that time the mass absenteeism incident happened; deep down I felt that it would be very weird if it was actually arson."

"And from then on there was a 12 day cycle?"

"Yes. Always on the morning of the 12th day."

"Locks?"

"It is locked."

"When will the next fire be?" "The last time was on the 11th, so this time it should be on the 23rd. That's 2 days from now."

"Lastly..." As he said that, he looked at the group, and asked them about the strange rumors. After listening to their last incredible story, Naru shut his notebook and rose. "Can you let me see your classroom?"

"Yes, please." Yasuhara stood up and the rest left before them.

Naru turned at the door when he noticed Mai wasn't following them. Before he could comment Lin made his way to her. He placed his hand on her shoulders and just like that, Sakauchi-kun disappeared from her view. Her legs gave up.

"Taniyama-san?" Lin had caught her.

"I am fine... Sakauchi-kun... That guy was here"

"Eh Jou-chan? Why didn't you say anything?"

Naru too looked irritated by that.

"I couldn't, I don't think he was doing it on purpose but by the end he noticed me"

"..."

"Is something wrong?" Yasuhara called out from the other side of the door

"No" Mai regained strength and separated herself from Lin while thanking him.

"Shouldn't you rest Jou-chan? You look like a ghost"

"Haha very funny. I rather not be alone thank you very much"

Everyone was tired of hearing countless stories so rather than convince her, they allowed her to go.

* * *

Ugh... So long and I didn't even finish it, no sir. I won't rush I already jumped some stuff can't do that or it will affect the outcome. Well I guess that my modifications will really be seen from the other chapter onwards, with so much info I could barely cut anything.

 **Question, how do you think Gene would react to yashu's flirt?**

CaitHawke4Ever: I love it too! It's so funny to write. Yup Gene is actually conscious of his feelings growing for Mai so that is why he is trying to distance himself. Spices are on the way! Thanks to yashu ;)

Karibel. : si ya vienen! Tratare d sacarlo lo mas antes q pueda ;D

Kallen21: there you go! The other one is still cooking, bon appetit!

Mortisvenom: laughing evilly while preparing my spices. Yasu taking notes on the background. Soon it will all go according to the plan. Yasuhara really is a great character full of opportunities.

Thank you so much for reading! For the faves, follows and reviews ;* see you soon!


	23. Chapter 23

Hi! I have great news everyone! Aqua Lilly will be my editor/beta once I finish this story. I am well aware that I have grammar mistakes and that the flow of the story is rushed. So once am done with the rewrite, that is to avoid the spoilers, we will be updating the story from chapter 1. I hope you guys stick with me through all this. I won't start updating the previous chapters right away because some clues might be erased and I really want you to be able to guess what Mai is..

I also sincerity apologize for the delay in updates. I was called by the campaign I wanted to work in! I am now a content/ tech support! I will finally be able to use the knowledge that I learned back in school xD I pray that everything will work out. My webtoon is still on hold, I'm a bit of a perfectionist with details so please once I publish it, take a look.

A big hug to everyone! We made it to a 101 alerts! And 96 reviews! Thank you so much! I really appreciate it! Cheers!

Well let's go on with the story!

* * *

"This is it, I'm going to open the door" Yasuhara warned just before opening it.

The classroom was located at the first floor of the West Block. Once the door opened, a weak odor overcome them. It was a hateful stench, like the smell of something rotten.

Stepping inside, Yasuhara turned to ask "I practically can't smell the stench anymore, what about you guys?"

Naru nodded. "And it's not a very strong smell, but there definitely is an odor."

Bou-san opened the classroom's windows. "Even after opening the windows, the stench does not dissipate." It didn't matter, Mai ran towards the window and leaned over it to breath air from the outside.

"It smells like a fish tank filled with frogs"

"Yeah, it basically reeks in here" the Monk agreed.

Naru was as always stoic, he scanned the room. Touching each table. "There is no place where the stench is particularly strong."

Yasuhara nodded.

Suddenly Mai turned to look at Naru, he had made that sound again. The one that came out when he held the spoon and the coin... She held her head for the upcoming headache but this time it didn't come. She released the air she had been holding and regretted it immediately when she breathed in.

Naru suddenly stood still. He turned to look towards Yasuhara's group surrounding the door. "Has anything strange ever happened here?"

"Strange things?" Yasuhara tilted his head.

Naru's expression was severe. "Like summoning, this type of thing."

It didn't take long for the surrounding girls to murmur and not long after, they asked if he referred to Worikiri-sama

Both Mai and the Monk asked Yasuhara "what is that?"

"Well, it's been popular throughout the school since the second semester, orikiri-sama, gogen-sama it basically is..."

"I have it with me, it has not been used." a girl piped up, interrupting Yasuhara but he nodded in thanks. She retrieved a piece of paper from her desk.

Instantly Bou-san reacted. He took the paper from her, examined it and his face turned sour. Once he said that it was Kokkuri-san, everyone reacted but he crushed the paper and threw it on the trash bin.

"Gongen-sama. Tarou-san. Hitofude-sama. Cupid-san. They are all aliases for Kokkuri-san."

"Eh!" The exclamations came not just from the girl who handed them the paper.

"What you were doing was well and truly Kokkuri-san. It is the same thing regardless of what you name it. You casually summoned spirits, and treated them as toys."

"I was told that worikiri-sama was a god so it was risk free" a girl protested but Bou-san was furious.

"That is misinformation, even an amateur can summon a spirit but you need to be trained to be able to send them back where they came from. Don't ever try this by yourself again!"

The girls lowered their heads. Naru interrupted. "You said it is very popular. How high is its popularity?"

The girls made eye contact with each other. "The truth is that in school, everyone has been doing it."

"Amongst those present here is there anyone who has not done it?"

Including Yasuhara, not a single person raised his hand.

...

Leaning on the chair's back, Bou-san stared at his pile of notes, sighed a huge sigh before placing them on the table. "This thing is huge, god help us."

"Is it very serious?" Yasuhara couldn't help but ask.

Bou-san nodded his head, frustrated. "All the students in the school are doing Kokkuri-san." His sight fell on the pile of notes.

Those were the results of the investigation done with the help of Yasuhara and his group. Of all the students, more than 90% have done Kokkuri-san at least once, and since September, most of them have done it every break time.

"I know! Why don't I teach you how to perform an exorcism so you can do it. That's a brilliant idea isn't it?" The Monk held Yasuhara's shoulders and continued to tell him nonsense when Mai's fist brought him out.

"Monk-san!"

"What? Are you motivated to work on this case after seeing Matsuyama's attitude?" Bou-san cried and held his head.

"I apologize for him. Matsuyama treats everyone poorly, even the students have given up on him. He won't listen to what other people have to say so we have to be the mature ones and be patient with him"

"Ah, then he must be giving you a hard time, since you were the one to come consult with us on this whole case" Monk showed him a pitiful look.

"I'm ok, since I do well on school" his aura of student president was shining behind him and Mai had to turn away. She noticed that Naru was deep in thought, so she asked what he was thinking.

"Within Japan, the schools where Kokkuri-san is popular, how many do you think there are?"

"I understand what you are saying, but don't you think the volume here is exceptional?"

Hearing Bou-san's words, Naru's expression became even more complicated.

"Untrained people do not always succeed in summoning a spirit even if they try. In other words, the number of successes is very low. Is this school a special school for psychics? Even then, I don't believe that the situation would progress so smoothly."

"Perhaps."

"Furthermore, there is the current situation. Even if all the strange stories are all simple lies, what about the child in the LL classroom? The black dog? The fires? We are clear that playing Kokkuri-san will summon wondering spirits, and amongst these spirits there some that are powerful, and incidents where they cause harm is not unknown. But, if this is the case, the numbers are also abnormal."

"Mmm" Mai began. "Can Kokkuri-san really summon spirits?"

"That should be, if it was a psychic."

"It would not happen with non psychics?"

"No. To start, that's too arbitrary."

"Then I really am not a psychic. To tell the truth... I have done Kokkuri-san before and I never summoned anything. I couldn't see any spirit no matter how hard I tried"

"Eh? Taniyama-san is a psychic?" Yasuhara was surprised and asked instantly.

"Sorta... I guess?" She answered vaguely and met Naru's eyes. He sighed.

"What version of Kokkuri-san did you do?"

"The one with the 10 yen coin"

Naru rolled his eyes. "Put your finger in the desk as if you were practicing Kokkuri-san"

"Like this" she did as was told. Both Yasuhara and Bou-san were looking at her finger too.

"Yes, but it's shaking. Stop moving it"

"Ah it's true, it's is slightly shaking" Yasuhara confirmed.

"Even if you tell me that..." She was really doing her best to stop it.

"Do you get it now?"

Bou-san nodded. Mai didn't.

"It is a normal human body reaction, When there are many people doing that together, under the influence of each person's shaking, the coin moved. Kokkuri-san and the Ouija Board. The theory behind these are all similar. Everyone is moving unconsciously. Because the movement is unconscious that's why the resulting movement is unexpected."

"En." She nodded this time.

"But it really predicted a lot of things accurately - what was that?"

"Usually, people who think like that would also think, 'it'd be great if the coin moved', right?"

"Yes - it'd be more interesting if it moved."

"People would also think, 'if the answers to the questions were correct, that would be more interesting.' that expectation will make people move the coin unintentionally"

"It also predicted something that only I knew." She wasn't giving up that easily.

"Like?"

"It predicted the current contents of my pocket."

"En. That was due to everyone's subconscious inference. The contents of a girl's pocket: handkerchief, comb, mirror... everyone's expectations are all different. All the participants are thinking on their feet. An item starting with "ki" - key holder Then it follows to move to 'i' It would make all the participants think of an object that starts with kii, key, key holder"

"Exactly." Mai looked amazed as she took out her key holder.

"Dummy, I could hear the keys on your pocket"

"Ah" she face palmed herself.

"After listening to your speech, based on what you say, you don't believe in Kokkuri-san."

"Perhaps... Personally I don't believe in Kokkuri-san."

"Eh?! Why is that so?" Both Mai and Bou-san asked while Yasuhara looked impressed

"Everyone thinks that spirits are all knowing. Like, Mai's future, Bou-san's thoughts, the object hidden secretly in my pocket, everyone thinks that spirits would know these things as a matter of course, but is that really the case?"

"Ah" everyone nodded in understanding, just then, Gene decided to make his appearance. Mai simply glanced at him before looking back at Naru.

"If Mai dies and turns into a spirit, do you believe you would know these things?"

"No."

"Exactly. I personally think so too. Basically the only things that spirits know more than man have got to do with 'death' and 'the world after death'."

She tilted her head. "Then... What about Gen-iie?" She choked on but she continued "My spirit guide? How can he know things" she grabbed her shirt's collar. Gene had pulled so hard she barely corrected herself.

Naru quickly recovered from the unexpected question. "It's likely that he is able to do so because he was either a strong medium, spiritualist or was a clairvoyant when he was alive if he could do it before he could do it after, but unlike Bou-san, I think Kokkuri-san is only a harmless game." He brought the talk right back at the current discussion.

Yasuhara, who had been listening quietly interrupted him. "But, if there was a powerful psychic present? Wouldn't they really summon a spirit?"

Naru shrugged. "It is possible. But this hypothetical psychic would be able to avoid evil spirits. He would be innately able to avoid summoning evil spirits."

"Anyway," Naru restlessly ruffled the mountain of notes. "Summoning a spirit is similar to adjusting the frequency of a radio. 'A crowd gathered and summoned spirits, resulting in the school being filled with wondering spirits'; on this opinion of Bou-san's I think there must be a certain degree of truth. If we exorcize but fail to find a cause, we can only assume that to be the cause. Until everyone gets here, we can only exorcize the spirits as they appear."

Naru sounded like he was deeply frustrated.

'I don't think you should be here Mai' Gene whispered to her ear. She jumped 3 spaces and blushed, once she recovered she swung her fist to him and he avoided it easily.

"No, Mai I'm serious, this ain't time to joke around"

"Then stop doing that, I will kick your butt next time"

"Um... Taniyama-san?" Yasuhara called out, it was then that she noticed everyone's eyes on her.

Thankfully, Lin had gone to pickup Ayako. So her awkwardness didn't increase with him.

"Ugh um Genie says it's dangerous here" for now she avoided Yasuhara's questioning look and told Naru.

"Can you ask him to be more specific?" Naru rolled his eyes, he was annoyed already.

'Mai?' Gene called out, his figure looked like he was covered in mist. She blinked.

Turning around, she could see the mist everywhere... She walked.

"Naru? Gene?" Only her steps could be heard. "Bou-san? Yasuhara-san?" She advanced but instead of hitting the desk that Naru was. She hit a railing.

As soon as she wondered why, the mist cleared out. How long had she been walking? The sky was dark but a white light with long tail passed before her and went inside one of the buildings... She was at the roof, and not only that. She wasn't alone.

Thousand of white lights looked to be floating everywhere in the school. It was beautiful but sad.

"You can see them, can't you?"

Mai turned to her left, Sakauchi was grabbing the railroad and staring at the ground.

She nodded, her gut told her not to lie."its a bit scary, are you not afraid?"

"I'm very happy."

"Happy? About this type of thing?" she couldn't help but ask loudly.

Suddenly his expression was hidden by a dark shadow. He looked steadily at her, lips parting. Those steady eyes flashed a dark radiance. He was smiling. The corners of his lips rose. It was a sinister smile.

"I'm extremely happy. There is no feeling better than this."

The sound of a heartbeat sent goosebumps to her skin. All the white lights disappeared from her view as Sakauchi held his hand to her.

"Join me"

She stepped back in response. He smiled sadly and threw himself down the roof, just like the rumors said, she saw his shadow falling down..

She had little time to react, she was slammed back to her body. She opened her eyes to the dark ceiling, Ayako was sleeping beside her. Did she faint?

"Ugh" her heartbeat was going crazy. "..."

Somehow she remembered talking with Yasuhara and setting up the cameras with him, but that wasn't her, she didn't do that. Gene must have had taken over. It appears Ayako had complained about staying on not staying on a hotel...

Closing her eyes she recalled as much as she could to avoid thinking on that dream. But as always she instantly regretted it. Why was she called captain? Big bad boss was hilarious to Naru but...' Ugh why did Gene suggested to make Naru jelly? Yasuhara will certainly misunderstand! I'm not in love with Naru!... I think.'

"Ugh! Sleep!"

...

Next morning Mai spilled her tea when she was called "darling" and was hugged by Yasuhara.

Ayako celebrated but big bad boss had an angelic smile on his face. Somehow she couldn't help but hug back in fright. It made it worst, a charm point appeared on Naru's neck it was an angry vein.

'Gene, I will definitely kick your butt'

* * *

I know, my changes are mostly on the ending, geez I thought that I had all the info covered but no, i freaking didn't. Alright warning spice coming up ahead, level? 2.5 jelly is the best desert xD

 **Gene is an excellent chef.**

Guest: love it that you loved it! Will do! NaruXMai forever!

Kallen21: dish freshly served!

Corpus: thanks to you too for motivating me to write more!

Mortisvenom: I also think he will, but it will be a little late for Gene when he realizes. He will pull the pranks anyway.

Karibel. : gracias por no cansarte! Seguire con mas! Hasta El ultimo cap!

CaitHawke4Ever: yup! I did, I had to cut off lots of paragraphs and even mix manga and add some connections but it was needed, it has to have the same settings for the story to change afterwards. And Gene I'm sure he will have plenty of chances to take over and do pranks xD


	24. Chapter 24

Hi beautiful people! Hope you all had amazing holidays! Please take care of me this year as well. *Bows* I haven't given up. I just... Had to deal with lots of stuff including stalkers xD anyway.

Thank you so much for the patience, this case seems to have a lot of info but it's a rewrite so I will skip some, please do check it out on the original. Ono really described a lot.

I think I will be able to update on weekends. Not 100% sure I can make it next week but I will do my best. I need to get to the blood stained lab. I really need to write that off.

Thank you for the 100eviews! 100+ follows and faves! Sending virtual hugs!

* * *

"Wasn't I clear enough? I don't pay you to play around" Naru was smiling so kindly it gave her shivers.

Realizing her mistake of hugging Yasuhara, she instinctively push him away.

"Darling, why are you so cold? After what happened yesterday" Yasuhara pretended to cry. Even fake tears dropped down.

Mai blushed from embarrassment, he was implying something that definitely didn't happen but her reaction only made her look guilty.

"Are you serious? I need details!" Ayako hugged her while celebrating, she didn't give Mai a chance to defend herself.

Monk had his mouth open and Lin was definitely surprised, his blobs were frozen behind him. Naru... Well...

The look on his face was cold, so cold he could freeze hell...

"...".

Mai turned around, she raised her hand to Yasuhara. "What you think I said yesterday wasn't me, it was my spirit guide"

"I know, he introduced himself to me" he flashed her a smile, somehow she felt something mischievous out of it. But the temperature warmed up a bit with that.

"If you know then-"

"I have the blessings of your spirit guide"

"Eh?" Mai blinked

"Shounen, By any chance do you really like Mai?" Monk grabbed his shoulders.

Mai blushed again but instantly shivered, she could tell Naru's glare was on them, thankfully she had turned around and could no longer see his face..

Pretending to ignore the matter, she picked up the stack of papers that fell down from an unknown wind..

"Yes I do"

Ayako gasped but Mai couldn't even react because her inner voice told her to play dead.

"..."

"But I also like Shibuya-san, he is beautiful"

"Eh?" Ayako and Monk blinked twice. Lin's blobs were on the floor while the man himself tried to hide his mouth.

Naru, blinked then his face turned to a new level of annoyance, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Yasuhara took advantage of the situation and held Monk's hands.

"But I like you even more"

"Young Man"

"Yes?"

"Are you teasing us?"

"Of course I am"

Instantly Bou-san melted to the ground

"Don't play with an old man's heart, for crying out loud"

"But now, everyone is wide awake isn't that right?"

"I rather be sleepy, thank you very much" the Miko huffed, disappointed with the outcome

"That wouldn't do, after all if we looked tired, students will think we did something overnight and they will continue to ask, like when they woke us up"

"Uff please, I prefer them rather than Matsuyama" Mai huffed, being used to pranks by Gene she recovered instantly.

"Ah Mai-chan met him when she went to check on the equipment right? I'm sorry about that"

Naru's eye brow shot up when Mai didn't correct him with her name.

"Yeah, but I bet he is definitely sorry now. After bitting his tongue, he won't be able to bad mouth us without pain."

Bou-san messed her hair up while he laughed out loud. He tried asking her for clues on how she did it but Mai simply took her tongue out.

"Enough, we don't have time to waste. Get back to work and Mai, don't fall asleep"

Naru stood up and went to the door followed by a smirking Lin. Surprisingly, one of his blobs stayed behind and landed on Mai's shoulder

She huffed angrily, it's not like she planned to fall asleep. It simply happened but no matter what excuses she could come up with, Naru could care less about it.

"If anything happens or if you discover anything report to me at once"

If it weren't for Bou-san explaining what he meant by that, Mai would had thought he was worrying over her, she nodded in relief that Naru wasn't possessed by anything...

After all having a 6th Sense didn't really made her someone special at all, or so she thought.

...

Hours passed, she had to reorganize the data left in the base and check the video from the tapes that both Bou-san and Yasuhara collected for her.

If that wasn't enough, students came in groups to ask how the investigation was going. To say things lightly by the time Masako and John arrived at 3 o'clock Mai was near the border of collapsing.

Surprisingly the Miko had tried to gather information from the younger staff members but it also took a troll on her. Bou-san and Yasuhara were no better, they had changed the equipment as Naru had ordered and had to deal with the interrogation of curious students that wondered how the equipment worked.

Naru looked annoyed and Lin had a 'don't bother me aura' it appears that they faced resistance when investigating the places of interest.

After Yasuhara introduced himself, Naru asked Masako if she could see any spirit.

"I can feel the presence of spirits, and there are quite a lot of them. I also know where they are, but… exactly what kind of spirits they are, I'm not too clear. I can't see them, I have never been good with wandering spirits"

Masako said and lowered her head.

"Well that's a problem, because these are spirits summoned through Kokkuri, it is to be expected they have no great connection to the school or to the students" Bou-san sighed

Masako nodded and brought her kimono sleeve to her mouth.

"But there is a spirit that I feel particularly strongly here…" she closed her eyes and continued "a male about my age...I can see him very clearly. I can feel a very strong emotion from him, perhaps something happened in this school that saddened him. He is currently trapped within the school."

Mai nodded "his name is Sakauchi-kun"

"Is that so? he must had committed suicide, he is not nearby but his presence is strong and his death was not that long ago"

Masako turned to look at Naru but he on the other hand was looking at a file. After confirming the contents he turned to Lin and asked for the last night events.

The aforementioned Lin-san took down his headphones.

"There are some locations where the temperature was abnormal. 3-1, 2-4 and the LL classroom had especially low temperatures."

(3-1 was Yasuhara's classroom where the mass poisoning occurred.2-4 was the classroom where the black dog appeared.)

"There is nothing abnormal with the visuals; the microphones recorded sounds in 3 locations. Distinctly, they are the Art Preparation Room, 2-4 classroom, and the Gym Storeroom."

Naru narrowed his eyes and turn to everyone. His instructions were clear.

"Commence exorcism with the 5 aforementioned locations as the core. Hara-san, please walk around the school and check the locations where there are spirits. Matsuzaki-san, please accompany Hara-san, and conduct exorcisms to the best of your abilities."

"Ok." both girls stood up

"Mai will keep watch over this place, and actively manage the communications. Monk and John," Naru looked at the pair as he said that.

"First, proceed to the 5 locations which had activity last night and conduct exorcisms there. After that go to locations pointed out by Hara-san."

"Yeah."

"Yes."

The pair replied and rose from their seats.

"Lin and I will continue to investigate suspicious locations. Yasuhara-kun, please help us. Mai,"

"Yes!" Mai replied instantly, she saluted like a soldier ready to go to war.

"..."

"?"

"Don't be lazy or fall asleep"

Before Mai could even retort everyone was out. Quietly fuming, she organized the reports they had collected the day before.

"Yo! "

" Kyah! Gene you nearly gave me a heart attack!" she grabbed her chest.

"It's Genie for now remember? Anyway, want to come around for a bit?" He extended his hand to her.

"Eh? But I'm working"

"This is work too you know? Naru will be pleased"

"Mmm if you say so. . " Reluctantly she grabbed his hand, suddenly her field of vision changed.

She saw herself sitting in front of her, her eyes were open staring at her. It felt like she was in front of a mirror. However her reflection didn't follow her movements.

"Gene, this is so creepy I don't know what to say"

"Hahaha you will get used to it, come we should get going before you reach your limit" he guided her out of the base.

"Oh this is the same as the dream I had last night"

"Is that so? I thought it was weird how you lost consciousness. Did you meet someone?"

"Yeah...Sakauchi-kun..."

"He is stronger than I thought, be careful this place is dangerous"

"You always say the same Gene" she laughed

"I'm serious, look" Gene pointed at the floor.

The pitch black floor turned transparent, if it wasn't for Gene holding her hand she probably would had fallen to her bottom.

"It's nothing, calm down a little."

"Ye.. yes"

The floor and the walls everywhere had turned transparent. Just like the negatives of photographs stacked together. She swallowed hard, the only ones that remained the same were Gene and her.

Just like her dream, spirits were glowing in forms of balls, some had tails that followed them when they moved.

"Gene, there's a lot of them"

"Yeah, even while the exorcism is on going, it's useless with so many" he pointed upwards were Ayako and Masako were.

They were in the Locker Room.

Masako approached a huge spirit next to some storage shelves and stopped. That spirit looked larger and blacker than the other spirits.

She pointed at that spirit, and Ayako started brandishing her jade rosary. The pale black spirit floated weightlessly to escape, and floated out of the window. Neither Masako nor Ayako noticed any of these.

"It escaped?" Mai frowned.

"Correct, it went to somewhere else, look" once again he pointed it out.

The spirit floated to a small room at the end of the second floor, and closed in on a white spirit straying in a corner. That was the Broadcast Room…

The large black spirit and the smaller, rounder white spirit circled each other. Their tails became intertwined. Soon, the smaller spirit was engulfed by the larger one. It felt like the larger spirit grew a little larger, and a little blacker.

"How disgusting…"

"Yeah. It's a really nasty sight: spirits devouring other spirits. That's why I said… this place is very dangerous."

"But…"

"Just like that they grow… then…"

Gene pointed down to a swamp-like patch of an ominous color. It was immense, like a huge pit had opened in the center of the room.

"That is evil… do you understand?"

"Yes."

*Ba-thump* (sound of a heart beat)

"Have someone teach you a spell"

"Huh?"

"Just in case, I am unable to protect you if I'm sleeping"

"Then I will just fight, like always"

"No, that's not good enough, please Mai" Gene turned around and looked at her seriously. Somehow the scenery around them was changing.

"I understand"

"What do you understand?" Yasuhara asked, he was waiving his hand on front of Mai's face.

Mai backed away blinking rapidly.

"Ah Yasuhara, you scared the hell out of me"

"Call me Yashu. And I should say that, were you sleeping with your eyes open?"

"Alright Yashu, is that even possible?" Mai brushed her eyes eagerly.

"Well, you tell me. You didn't respond until I reach out to you" Yasuhara shrugged his shoulders.

Just then Bou-san and John got in.

"Yo, what's up with Jou-chan?" Bou-san grabbed a coffee mug.

"She was sleeping with her eyes open"

"Huh?" John was surprised but monk just laughed on the background, saying that nothing else could surprise him coming from Mai.

"Whatever, can any of you guys teach me a spell to protect myself? My spirit guide insisted on it"

"Well, to call it a spell... Perhaps a prayer? But it won't work unless you're a believer" John shook his head.

"Then Bou-san?"

"It will be over for us the day we have to resort to you performing an exorcism"

"Hey!"

"Put your fingers like this"

"Eh?"

Efficiently, Bou-san stopped Mai from storming and taught her how to use the chant mantra of the fudo myoo (the immutable one)

"Got it?"

"Sorta"

"Well, practice it till you remember it, here I will write it up for you"

"Thanks"

"You're welcome, now that this is set, at what time is the fire taking place on the locker room?"

"Ah now that you mention its today right?" John nodded to Bou-san and turned to Yasuhara

Before he could reply Mai interrupted him.

"It will not happen there"

They all turned to look at her as she was moving her fingers

"It will happen on the Broadcast room"

"What? How..." Bou-san asked

"I got a dream while napping with me eyes open" she tried to make a joke out of it but their reaction was totally different from what she thought it would be.

"And then?" Bou-san grabbed her shoulders.

With a nervous voice she described how the spirit escaped and was eaten.

"That's all, my spirit guide said I should learn to protect myself, it's not a big deal"

"Not big deal? "Your dreams are a form of collecting information. Be a good child now and go to bed."

"That's right. Mai-san, please go and sleep." John provided a pillow out of nowhere.

"What, no-"

Cutting Mai's refusal, Bou-san gave her a lesson on how dreams are a type of ESP phenomenon, he explained the d-ASC, discrete-Altered State of Consciousness.

In the meantime both John and Yasuhara created a makeshift bed out of nowhere.

"Even so, I can't sleep like this! Knock it off " Mai struggled to get out of the princess carrying hold that Bou-san did when he pick her up.

"What's the meaning of this?" Naru growled icily as he opened the door followed by the rest of the members. Masako simply hid her mouth while Ayako instantly got inside to beat the monk with her purse.

"Wait! I can explain! Don't hit me-"

"Naru~" Mai called out finally relieved to be off their attention.

"Does a warning not suffice?" Naru pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Eh?" Mai blinked.

"Ah Shibuya-san please excuse her what happened was..." John and monk explained and at the end of it Mai had to describe her dream again.

"That's all..." Her voice was low but she finished her story quickly, she tried her best not to be angry but it was probing to be difficult since Naru kept looking at her with a pokerface.

No signs of remorse at all.

For all that matter Ayako had a look of annoyance for the whole situation while Masako was looking at Mai coldly. You may had guess it, Lin had his usual pokerface on but his blobs, well it appears that they were making fun of Naru by dancing around him.

"If Mai-chan's right, we will be able to see tonight"

"You sound like Mai's manager" Bou-san patted Yasuhara's back for his comment.

"Yasuhara-kun is right. We only need to see where the fire occurs to find out. Lin –"

Naru turned to Lin-san who stood at his back waiting like an attached spirit.

"Set up equipment in the Broadcast Room."

...

"Ne~ Bou-san there's something that I can't get a hold of in my mind, don't you think this whole thing of the Kokkuri is way different than the original one?"

"Well now that you mention it, the way it's made is very new" Bou-san nodded while placing the camera down.

"Is it really that different?" Yasuhara asked

"Yeah, I wonder who came up with it?" Mai commented but she turned to Naru and asked "where do you want the camera to look?"

It took her a moment to notice the silence, he was only staring at her and when she turned to look at Bou-san he was doing the same. Lin, John and Yasuhara as well. Ayako sighed and Masako rolled her eyes.

"What? What's wrong? Did something happen?" She panicked.

"Is she an idiot or a genius?" Bou-san mumbled, but it was loud enough to be heard by everyone.

"An idiot" Naru sighed and turned to Yasuhara.

"I'm on it boss" saluting, Yashu left the room.

"Yo, calm down! You're wearing a skirt!" Bou-san held Mai.

"Narcissists jerk!"

...

At 4:32:24 am, flames suddenly spurted from a cool wall on the Broadcast room.

* * *

Hope you liked the update! The chapter of the silence voice on Christmas will be made after this case is over, I won't mix it like the manga did, I wouldn't be able to bring the best of this chapters if I did.

 **Naru may look like a jerk but hold on to the hate, he is simply awkward on socializing, can't deal with his new emotions and is jelly but isn't aware of it. I will deal him a punch later on so he can apologize xD I'm putting myself on his shoes don't kill him yet. Thank yous xD**

Review time!

Guest: thank you so much! I'm so sorry for the delay! Hope you can keep up with me until we get to the blood stained lab, better yet till the end of the light novel and manga ヽ(´▽｀)/

Zdraco: thank you very much dearest reader! Hope you like this chapter!

Mortisvenom: they will definitely find out the hard way since they are so stubborn xD

Karibel. : seguire publicando! Esta historia no la suelto! Gracias por la paciencia! Tratare de subirlos mas seguidamente x3

Kellen21: thank you so much! Here it is!

CaitHawked4Ever: I love that you love it! I enjoy the most writing those parts! Thank you so much I will keep up writing :3

Bows* thank you for the support! When chance arrives I will update the first time stories. I have so many I can't sleep xD

See you soon! In the meantime I gotta see how the stalkers got my contact info. See ya!


	25. Chapter 25

*breathes in and out* I'm finally able to update *tears running down* I was a fool thinking I could update on weekends *hits the table while getting drunk on wine* for crying out loud when will the high time ends? *Kills an innocent pillow" there was a day that I stayed working till 3am *throws a chair* my shift starts at 8am but I work through tasks not with time so I don't get paid extra *eats fat food without care* but I love my freaking job *whining uncontrollably to a corner of my room*

*Cough * I'm fine. I'm suffering writing withdrawals, it ain't that bad my life, well probably *coughing* I do it for my cats, * manly tear gets sucked back to the eyes*

I shall fight and fight till this is complete, I won't give up. I need to get to the blood stained lab... Last week when I thought I could write, I was writing the continuation of the motel night for the first time stories and yup u guess it, my sworn enemy got me there. Error 404 I will get back at u for sure. Erasing everything, every single word... It did wound me.

Drama time over from anime-addict-fan. Let's do this story!

* * *

"..."

Mai stared at the burned wall, it was an intense fire and she couldn't help but wonder what would had happened if she had kept the information of the dream to herself...

"Well done Jou-chan" monk slapped her back making her come back to reality.

"Where are the other locations where there are will-o'-the-wisps?"

"The Printing Room and… LL classroom and…"

She felt a huge responsibility growing up on her shoulders... She had to remember everything, otherwise accidents like this one could...

"Mai?" Naru urged her

"The will-o'-the-wisp in the Sickbay felt larger... I can probably get more information if I -"

"No that's enough for today"

"But-"

"Lin"

The tall assistant nodded and walked to her, Mai stepped back in response but she didn't had time to react. A bunch of files where they had recorded all the interviews was pushed to her hands.

"We have plenty of information to sort out, get started" Naru smirked as he and Lin walked out.

Her mouth opened in disbelief, then after hearing snickers from behind her coming from Masako and Ayako a blood vein popped on the back of her head.

"Jerk"

She slammed the files to the table and angrily sat down. In the back of her mind she was re-evaluating the situation, what if she had been wrong? She turned to look at Masako.

"..."

This is the responsibility she always had to carry... 'It's heavy, what should I do?'

As if reading her mind, the doll looking girl answered her

"Don't think too much about it. Just behave as you normally would. If you think too much you would end up not being able to come up with anything."

Mai blinked, that's right, even if she was able to get more information, it wouldn't do them any good, they needed to start connecting the pieces to see which they were missing.

"Thank you" Mai said as she felt the weight of her shoulders shrink a little.

Just then she heard Monk, John and Yasuhara talk, while looking at the ruined tape

"This is a real example of a roll of tape being more precious than human life."

Mai simply sighed.

...

It was bound to be her luck, just when she decided to skip on the duty of collecting tapes, she had to run into Matsuyama.

Mai managed to keep herself in check and was about to leave after arguing on Sakauchi-kun case but a scream coming from a classroom had both of the running towards it.

Matsuyama instantly opened the door.

"What happened?!" He asked the students and the teacher, who were trying to get closer to the walls.

"Over there!" A girl pointed out, her voice full of fear...

There on the middle of the classroom a black dog began to manifest.

"!' Matsuyama was frozen on the spot.

Students screamed as the dog growled, and took a chair in his mouth...

"Move out!" Mai pulled Matsuyama just in time to avoid being hit by the chair thrown to him with force

"W-what the hell is going on!?" The stubborn man screamed out with a panicked voice. Mai was pleased but it wasn't the time to celebrate, she grabbed the chair behind her and slammed it against the dog.

It hit the animal and it fell but it began to stand again.

"Hurry up! get everyone out!" Mai screamed, her voice made the teacher on the wall act. He was stumbling but even Matsuyama couldn't stand without shaky legs.

As if noticing her intention to escape, the dog barked and jumped in the air, she had no time to chant the spell monk taught her. Instead she grabbed another chair and used it to keep the dog's teeth away.

She was slammed against the floor but luckily she had pushed part of the chair into the dog's mouth.

The dog barked and bite the chair without reserve, spilling his saliva all over Mai.

Mai growled disgusted but she was loosing on strength. Just when she thought she was done for, Bou-san and company arrived.

Monk slammed the door open and began his chant. Someone had screamed her name but she didn't had time to care who.

She pushed the chair as much as she could, making the dog jump out and escape through the window..

"That bastard, ugh" Mai cursed and wiped her face but it only stocked to her hands

Surprisingly it was Masako who came to help her. She held a handkerchief on her hand and began to clean Mai's face.

"Hurry, take it off, that evil spirit-" she couldn't continue, her voice was cut off as her body arched forward,

"Masako, what's wrong-"

Mai herself didn't know what happened but her vision changed. She saw Masako covering her mouth while looking at the black will-o'-the-wisp.

The fact that they could see it wasn't the cause for Masako's distress. What was horrifying the young medium was that at one side of the black will-o'-the-wisp was a white spirit reaching out and screaming in pain

"!" Mai nearly screamed in surprise.

It was Sakauchi-kun.

Masako had identified him as well as she ran towards him but Mai knew, she knew he could no longer be saved. She held Masako's hand, just like how Gene had stopped her when she tried to prevent the woman from killing herself on the doll house case.

"M-Mai" Masako cried, surprised to see her there but that didn't matter. Mai shook her head and covered Masako ears.

"No, stop, Sakauchi-kun is-"

Mai shook her head again, tears dropping from her eyes. She hugged Masako until the last scream vanished.

Masako herself buried her face on Mai's shoulder, trying to hide what couldn't be hidden even by closing their eyes.

"-!"

"Hey! Both of you, answer! What's wrong?" Ayako shook them.

Both girls had sit down on the floor, their faces were green. Masako couldn't help but cover her face, while Mai simply looked down, tears streaming down their faces.

"Sakauchi-kun disappeared"

Masako turned to glare at Mai "It was just as Mai-san said. The spirits here are feeding on each other. Sakauchi-kun… had been devoured... " Her glare intensified as tears kept dropping "if you, if you had let go of me, I could ha-"

Mai looked up, her eyes stared into her "..." No words were needed to express what was needed to be said, it cut the doll looking girl's complain.

...

Back on the base, the strange atmosphere between Masako and Mai continued, Yasuhara however, reported his findings regarding the possibility of Sakauchi-kun being the creator of the kokkuri.

"That can't be a coincidence " monk nodded.

"Ah that's right it may be irrelevant but our school is built on a cemetery"

*Sighing* everyone rolled their eyes

"Shounen that's nothing much, it is very common." the monk said

The megane boy sighed, and tilted his head backwards.

"Ah, you think I'm lying. No, this is true. This place is called the Ryokuryo Ruins, it became a cemetery in the Nara era. If you dig in the field, tombstones and human remains can be found."

"If that is true... Then..." Naru muttered deep in thought.

The pieces began to connect with Yasuhara's in put of the school being built on a real cemetery, they could count for half of what was going on.

"Then since ancient cemeteries are bound by kekkais to prevent spirits from trawling the Earth and causing hauntings. The floating spirits summoned into the school are unable to leave due to the Kekkai… there's a possibility that it's like that." Naru commented and Bou-san continued since it still had room for discussion.

"Could it be that somewhere in the ruins, there is something that can summon and attract spirits? Since amateurs students have been successful in summoning, we can't discard this out"

"If that's the case will need to investigate and-"

Mai stood up, she grabbed a flashlight and headed towards the door. She couldn't concentrate on what they were talking so she needed a break.

"Mai?" Monk called out, putting on hold the conversation.

"Be right back, bathroom break"

"On your way back bring the tape from the LL classroom" Naru ordered as he resumed the conversation.

She simply rolled her eyes and got out.

...

*Flush*

She washed her hands and turned to look at herself on the mirror, she had bangs underneath her eyes.

*Sigh*

"You shouldn't be alone Mai"

"Wahh Gene, for crying out loud, don't scare me like that" she held her chest, and scolded him."more importantly this is the girl's bathroom"

"Eh?" Gene blinked and turned a bit red. "Sorry, not my intention, I just felt you were alone and woke up"

"Eh? you can feel that?"

"Not always, but in this place I can"

"Because it's filled to the top with spirits?"

"Sorta, any way where are you going? The base is that way" Gene pointed to a different direction.

"Your brother asked me to take the tape from the LL classroom"

"And he calls himself a genius" he slapped his face. "You're a danger magnet for crying out loud, just wait till I see him" Gene pulled his face.

"I dare you to say that again to my face" Mai smiled.

Gene closed his lips and looked away. Silently following her around. Mai opened the LL classroom, took out the tape and went out without any issue.

She smiled in success and was about to brag when her flashlight died. She tried to turn it on but no avail. A chill ran down her back, she turned to look at Gene but he was looking at the middle of the hallway.

"Mai..."

"Yeah?"

The dog from before manifested, it was bigger than last time.

"Did you learn a spell?"

"Yup"

"That's good, cause that thing is looking at me like am a steak"

As if to agree the dog licked his teeth and growled.

"Who's the danger magnet now" Mai smirked.

"Haha very funny" Gene stepped back, the dog ran cutting their conversation off.

Gene took Mai's had and ran.

"What about the spell?" Mai called out as they passed the LL classroom

"You can try that in another chance, I'm not risking it, we don't know if it will work!"

"The hell are you making me learn that for then?"

The dog chasing them hit a wall as they turned over a corner.

"No time to explain get the hell out of here Mai!" Gene disappeared

"The f*ck? If you're going to sleep, at least let me know!" Mai stumbled but recovered her running. "Both of them! I swear, keeping me on the blank I will make them pay!" She jumped a flight of stairs

The corridors were dark and her steps sounded loudly but if she had anything else to complain was the dog chasing her with all his will, it was definitely a revenge matter now for the prior encounter.

She made it to the north block but couldn't close the door, hands began to appear on the windows but like hell she had time to look at them. At the last window a silhouette of a person pressing himself at the window and looking at her made her dash to the east block.

She saw a set of stairs and instantly went up.

'I want to go back. I want to go back to the Meeting Room.'

*Bark*

"F*ck!"

She was getting tired, she got to the second floor and instantly sprinted to the third. Looking up she could see the roof of the third floor. But no relief came over her... just below there was a blinking green light that looked like an emergency light. And, there, was the small figure of a person.

She jumped back into the second floor, she had managed to make distance from the dog but now she was running to him, behind her, she heard the kid like figure running, the dog jumped in the air just like before but this time she dashed beneath it.

The kid screamed as it landed on him, but that kid was not a kid. Kids didn't had red eyes nor sharp teeth.

Using the momentum she broke in to the classroom on her right. Her legs were no longer responding but she used her body to close the door and collapse on it. With trembling hands she searched for the lock, it was a very simple latch lock but it helped, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Why on Earth no one show up?" She nearly cried but the adrenaline was still on her system, it only made her angrier. Her stomach began to hurt as her heart pounded on her chest, even the ringing on her ears annoyed her.

"Sh*t" she held her hair backwards, she was thirsty, her throat felt as if it had been sliced open whenever she breathe

"I'll wait here for a while, someone may had heard me, one of them better show up now" she huffed hugging her shaking legs

"This tape better be worth it" she pressed the pocket of her hoodie and was starting to calm down.

*Ka Dong*

She jumped out of the door, something was hitting it *ka dong*

"Argh! Stupid dog, give me a break, you just ate!"

She kicked the door but instantly stood up and backed away. The thing just hit harder.

She was staggering she was tired, 'no more-'

A chill ran down her back.

Her legs and arms felt like lead but even so she turned to her right. There was a shelf.

On it were jars... Topped with formalin and... Specimens.

"No"

She shook her head, a pair of eyes followed her hand as it reached her mouth.

A snake on a jar began to move inside. She turned around heading towards the door, she would rather fight the dog, than see this.

one jar fell down.

And she turned to see in shock. It had shattered and a frog was on the floor. She almost threw up as she saw it move. Holding her mouth she unlocked the door and tried to open it, but it didn't move.

She used her whole body to push it but it was useless. In her attempts more jars continued to fall. The smell of formalin became stronger.

"Ugh" small droplets of liquids splashed on her feet.

She began to bang the door.

"Monk! John! Yasuhara!" She didn't want to call him, that jerk.

Another pair of jars were heard shattering."ugh"

The sweet smell intensified and she began to feel dizzy.

"Ayako, Masako! Lin! Anyone please!"

*Crash*

"..." That was stronger

"Wahh uhaww"

Her eyes widened

"!"

The things which are stored in formalin in bottles in the Biology Preparation Room. All of them were here

"N-Naru! Naru! Help me!" she banged stronger but she didn't last long

Her lungs no longer received any oxygen, she was unable to breath as more jars fell to the floor... She was nauseous, dizzy and slowly she saw her view turn upside down.

'is no one coming?' tears drop from her slowly closing eyes

* * *

 _ **Sorry, kinda dark**_

You will notice the story is going my way now, following the original but a different dimension, I have more to come that will be slightly different from the original *cough* **spices** *cough*

 **Review time (a bit long)**

CaitHawked4Ever: thank you so much! The stalker seems to have backed up a bit, I haven't heard or seen from him after telling him to stop. Still keeping an eye out for him. Now Yasuhara in this dimension his back is wide open, he leaves it open on purpose so when they attack him he can get back at them with blackmail xD so Naru better be careful xD thank yous for reviewing! *Hugs*

Zdraco: oh Yasuhara is certainly watching, watching the drama unfold xD yup the case has lots of info but necessary info more now that Gene is involved ;) thank you so much! Stalker has backed out for now *happy dance* will try to update soon, hope you enjoyed this one :D and my sincere gratitude for reviewing! *Hugs*

Mortisvenom: aw thank you so much *blushing and shying away* *happy bounce* my country doesn't deal with stuff like this, so it ain't illegal *flips table* but I managed to tell him to stop, and I made sure to tell the people around me, so I'm not alone. *Hugs* thank you! Loved that you loved it! I'm back that's for sure! A bit slower but still here *high five* see you next time hopefully soon!

RichkeyZero: thank you kindly for reviewing *hugs*

Karibel. : Jajaja ups! perdon! Pero tal vez asi encuentras mas rapido Las pistas xD jk tratare de subir nuevos chapters aunq Sean cortos mas seguidos esto no lo dejo hasta q lo termine ;) Gracias por El apoyo ;3

Kallen21: thank you so much! Here it is! *Raises curtains* thank you so much for reviewing *bows*

Nagisa akabane: thank you as well for reviewing *hugs* will certainly do! *Salutes*

LoverofAnime27:. A bit like Gene because he made her be like that xD but not a catalyst thou I may do a story about it once am done with this one *gives a cookie for the idea* thank you so much! You will find out soon through clues or through the blood stained lab case ;3 am reading lots of Chinese web novels as well so you might be onto something similar with what am planning xD but I mix a bit of everything from Spanish dramas to Japanese beliefs xD will see. Hope you had a great read with the links x3 and thank you greatly for re-reading this as much as you have. It means a lot *hugs*

Hikari Ino: thank you so much! On the manga the first volumes I loved how Mai looked and Naru aw my heart, it was a great read specially since they continue further than the anime, I recommend to take a look, it is on mangapark xD if you're not into manga that's alright, I just wish they continue the animation or make a kdrama out of it. Or even better get another sequel for the novel *hearts flying on daydream land* thank you greatly for reviewing *hugs*

Pein's number 1 Girl: *happy dancing* thank you greatly *dancing* love that you loved it! Love that you reviewed and rated it *hugs" *continue to dance in happiness*

Moon1era: thank you! Loving that you are loving it! Mystery awaits *Sherlock Holmes music playing* soon it shall be revealed. Thank you kindly for reviewing *hugs*

Guest: I'm so thankful to you as well for reviewing and keeping track of it :3 *hugs* hopefully I can update faster soon! Correct that's what am aiming for xD this is a NaruXMai forever story xD thank you so much! Will do *salutes*

 _ **Love you all thank you for reaching out and for those that only read thank you as well! *Bows twice* thank you for motivating me to keep going at it, you are all amazing *hugs viewers* see y'all soon!**_


	26. Chapter 26

Hi there! I'm alive just that I have little time to write, sorry for the delay! The virus on Honduras made a mess, well everywhere is a mess but since I have to work from home my situation is almost the same as before, lets pray that things will settle and that the virus can be stopped, for those that are sick to recover and for people to follow prevention advices. Amen.

Let's jump to fiction, life is a mess so let's escape for a bit.

* * *

The wind was blowing.

But for Mai it didn't felt pleasant. She opened her eyes to see her surroundings all black. To be precise she felt like she was floating in mid air, and the only source of light was below her where small and weak lights started to appear.

Her consciousness floated towards the light, blinking she recovered her sight. The school was beneath her and it's structure had become transparent just like before...this time however the white lights had decrease tremendously.

The immense amount of floating white spirits had been so quickly and so drastically reduced. Even the original number of black will-o'-the-wisps had decreased. There were 4 which had grown horrendously huge. Compared to this, there were very few little wisps left…

Mai studied the place as best as she could, she wanted to share the information later on and possibly solve the case faster.

Even those that were like will-o'-the-wisps that floated weightlessly, were attracted to the large will-o'-the-wisps, and were devoured, it was a nasty sight and it made her remember Sakauchi-kun.

Shifting her gaze, she spotted figures in the second floor of the East Block.

"Oh" she saw herself lying on the ground and the crowd surrounding her. Ayako and the Monk and Masako, and there was John, Lin-san and Yasuhara, and also, Naru…

Ayako was shaking her body while Bou-san was trying to stop her. The Biology Preparation Room was flooded with a liquid. And strange things lay scattered throughout that liquid. Shards of broken glass sparkled and glowed.

It looked like a horror movie. A horror movie where she was the victim...

Even from far away she could see all of them perfectly, it was strange, she could even see Lin's blobs scanning the broken jars.

Naru spoke to Lin and he picked her up, taking her to the Sickbay at the end of the first floor. She wondered if Naru didn't take her because she was heavy, he had slender arms and he had call her fat so he probably would never try,... She got irked a bit when she thought about it. 'mphm!"

She was put on a bed and saw how Naru suddenly leaned in dangerously close to her face, he grabbed her cheek, and whispered something.

She couldn't hear..

"..i"

'what?' she felt a small tapping on her cheek followed by the small electric current..

"Mai"

The sensation brought back gravity and she felt back on her body. Blinking rapidly she saw an up close Naru with his long eyelashes.

The pair of beautiful clear eyes quickly increased their distance from her. Naru tapped Mai's forehead.

"Are you awake yet?"

Looking over his shoulder were the Monk and Ayako, Masako and John, Yasuhara and Lin-san it was funny how they paired up to look at her better.

"How do you feel?"

Naru sat gently on the side of the bed. Waiting for her answer that never came.

"Mai?" he asked again, tapping her forehead once more. The same electric current bringing her back to reality.

"I'm still alive…" she said hoarsely. Suddenly everyone let out their held breaths.

"Of course you are still alive."

Naru looked gently at her, she was kinda scared that Gene had switched over but those eyes were definitely Naru's...

"You only fainted because you inhaled formalin vapor. How do you feel?"

"Feel like vomiting…"

Her chest felt tight. It was like the sensation of severe motion sickness. The world spun and her body was heavy.

"How in the world did you end up in that type of a place? I told you to go to the LL classroom."

"Story short, dog was chasing me, then a creepy man was on a window and at last a kid like vampire got eaten by the dog while I hid on that classroom, I definitely made noise but no one came" she covered her eyes with the back of her hand.

Suddenly Ayako put a damp towel on her forehead. She smiled in thanks and closed her eyes.

Naru leaned closer.

"Can you relate in detail?" His interest won over and Mai couldn't help but roll her eyes..

And so she told them everything "my spirit guide didn't wait for me to use the spell monk taught me because he wasn't sure it will work on the dog that was chasing us... " She gave all the details, not to scare anyone nor for evoking pity but because she felt like vomiting if she didn't.

From how the light from the flashlight gave out to the type of noises she made. Nothing was left out even the wailing of a baby after his jar felt to the floor...

She managed to drink a bit of water and turned to scan their expressions.

Everyone had grim faces and once Masako confirmed that they were no longer around monk got closer to Mai and messed her hair.

"You shocked me. You fainted in a large pool of formalin. For a moment I thought something gory had happened."

She smiled tiredly at his input while she remembered having seen it herself. Suddenly Naru stood up, a strange look cross his face for a second but she figured it was her imagination.

"Anyway you are not injured so there's no problem anymore. Matsuzaki-san, could you please stay with Mai for a while."

After turning to Ayako he looked at the remaining members.

"Get back to work."

Everyone groaned softly but they nodded in understanding.

Just before Naru got away from her, Mai grabbed his jacket.

He turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, because of me... He got angry with you"

It was nearly unnoticeable but she saw him flinch...

"I will deal with him later, get some rest"

"Kay" she let go of his jacket, and he stood there a second more before leaving with the rest.

"Sleep some more, I will stay with you" Ayako patted her head.

"Thank you"

"You're very welcome" the Miko smiled as she changed the towel on her forehead. And Mail closed her eyes to welcome her dream world...

Or so she thought.

"..."

She didn't know where she was, but the fog covered everything... She could identify tall trees but that was all, it was very dark.

She walked, it worked before and it was likely that it would work this time as well.

It took some time but the fog started to grow thin, she stopped when she saw a torii infront of her.

Blinking she passed it over wondering why a shrine was there.

Beyond the Torii was a prayer path made of stone. On the right there was a small red Torii. Beyond a pair of ceramic foxes was a small memorial hall.

'that's right, Yasuhara had said so before, this place was an old cemetery some time ago'

She narrowed her eyes trying to see further ahead...

The shrine was dimly lit. Standing in front of the Main Hall was… 'Gene?'

He looked like he could disappear any second now but Gene's expression was hard. There was no trace of the gentle smiling face 'is he angry? Shouldn't I be the one to be angry?'

She closed in calling out his name

"Gene?"

"Get out of there"

"What?"

"You know what am talking about, wake up and get out of that place"

Mai blinked

"I don't understand… what do you mean?"' she wanted to ask about the shrine but stopped herself since he pointed up.

"That place is very dangerous. You must remember the exorcism techniques you've learnt."

"That's..."

All at once the Torii and the row of trees, and the school, too, became transparent. Right on the school's first floor was a pulsating thing.

It looked just like the image of an unborn child. A mysterious feeling surrounded the life-like will-o'-the-wisp.

"It's about to be born…"

She groaned softly.

"That's right. Up to this day they have been dormant. Very soon it will hatch. If it is allowed to hatch, nobody will be able to stop it."

She scanned the places were the 4 main will-o'-the-wisp were, LL classroom, printing room, sick bay and lastly the 2-4 classroom...

With a sudden "Sa", the vision cleared, and the ongoing scenario in the Printing Room emerged before her eyes. They had finally arrived – John and Yasuhara – at that very dangerous place.

"I'm going back."

Mai said that; Gene nodded.

"Be careful…"

The fog swiftly thickened.

"That place is…"

Gene's figure was swallowed by the fog. Only his voice echoed could be heard.

"… as dangerous as this one… so…"

...

Mai's eyes snapped open, with the same velocity she sat down.

"Wow, take it easy Mai"

"Ayako."

"?'

Mai swallowed 'The will-o'-the-wisp. About to hatch. If it was allowed to hatch nobody will be able to stop it'.

"Hurry to the Printing Room." The brunette pointed to the door

"Hey…"

Ayako looked very astonished.

Mail tried to stand up but nearly fell down. Even so she tried to explain

"John and Yasuhara-kun have gone to the Printing Room. That place is very dangerous. So please hurry there to stop the two of them."

Ayako nodded to her in comprehension.

"Understood. I'm going then."

"I will be right behind you"

After her nod, Ayako's expression was uneasy.

"Will you be fine on your own? You know how to use exorcism spells?"

"Yes, I will only delay you if you take me with you"

"What do you know? The Ku-ji? The Acalanatha Chant?"

"The one with the Acalanatha Seal."

"Then remember this."

Ayako formed a Sword Seal with one hand.

"Like this: remember? Rin (臨), Pyō (兵), Tō (闘), Sha (者), Kai (皆), Jin (陣), Retsu (列), Zai (在), Zen (前)."

Ayako's hand moved in a cross. It was like marking a grid in mid air. Then she made a final cut in the very center of the grid.

"This is the Ku-ji. Have you remembered it yet?"

"Ok, the first cut is horizontal right? I've got it." Mai nodded

"Do this after the Acalanatha Chant."

"Yes."

She forced a smile onto her petrified face. Ayako looked back, concerned, then ran out of the Sickbay.

...

Mai collapsed on the floor, she couldn't stand due to the dizziness and her growing headache. She was glad that her nose wasn't bleeding but the wish to empty her stomach was strong.

She crawled, Gene had warned her to get out of there and she planned to follow his advice.

As soon as she moved, all lights in the sick bay vanished.

"What are you doing… Are you playing with me?" she sat down and turned to look at the beds.

The lights from the street lamps outside permeated the windows. It made it easier to see the mattress, specially the one that glowed in the dark.

It was the third bed away from her, there was a human figure cocooned in the blankets.

"So you have appeared, monster."

Mai smiled, whatever Gene or the formalin had done to her brain had finally clicked, she was in survival mode.

She could tell the air was changing. The air, the atmosphere; something like that was changing, distorting, breaking..

There was a vague black thing below the white mattress and it emanated evilness... Two hollow like eyes opened to watch her.

But she could care less about it

"Naumaku, sanmanda, bazaradan, kan."

The black body beneath the mattress swelled. "*Puuuf", a deep and abstruse sound resonated from beneath the ground.

Its body grew larger than the bed. Once more, a moan resounded from below.

It was the sound of that thing starting to rise. A putrid smell filled the entire room. It was black; as though it was nothing but shadow, it did not even have an outline. She could only tell that it was extremely immense.

After repeating the chant 3 times she managed to stand up, adrenaline giving her strength.

Mai began to form the Sword Seal.

"臨 Rin"

She cut a horizontal line through the air.

"兵 Pyoo"

Then made a vertical cut.

"闘 Too"

With immense speed the bed where that thing was, had been thrown at her, she had to throw herself to the right to avoid it.

She landed heavily on the ground, the cold air covered her completely but she turned to see her left, the gigantic shadow fell onto the ground. Its body sank below, dissolved into the darkness and disappeared.

"Shoot... It escaped"

She tried her best to recover her breathing but it was hard, she was hyperventilating.

"Ugh" she managed to stand using the fallen bed as support but the room shook so strong her efforts were futile.

At the same time, came a shocking "Dong" that strong enough to shake her body. Mai's body was suddenly suspended in midair. Even before she could exclaim "Uh", she was slammed to the floor.

She rolled to her back and held her chest with pain. Incoherent words left her lips as she rolled from one side to the other.

Tears threatened to fall but the chill running up and down her back made her open her eyes.

She scanned the room and instantly noted that the floor had dropped beneath floor level. She searched for the door and gave up the idea of getting out, not even jumping will get her there.

"Uhhh just why?"

From the corner of her eyes she saw the miasma coming out of the floor. She sat down again and this time she chanted with speed

"naumakusanmandabazaradankan."

The miasma reacted and began to rise. She closed her eyes as it began to try to engulf her.

"naumakusanmandabazaradankan." once more this time with a louder voice.

*Caching*

She released the seal just when she was engulfed completely and gathered the Sword Seal starting the horizontal and vertical strokes.

"Rin (臨), Pyō (兵), Tō (闘), Sha (者), Kai (皆), Jin (陣), Retsu (列), Zai (在), Zen (前).

"Be gone!"

The room shook and with it Naru's voice could be heard

"Mai!"

She turned around and widened her eyes in surprise. 'since when...'

"Get over here, the roof is going to collapse!"

"Eh?" Mail couldn't even check for herself, The miasma had vanished but it wasn't over, she was thrown horizontally to the wall on her left.

She tried to stand but the energy on her arms gave up. She nearly kiss the ground if Naru's hold hadn't stopped it.

"Where's Ayako?"

"I sent her to the Printing Room, it's about to hatch."

As Mai answered the question, standing behind him, the pitter patter of footsteps and the voices of the monk and the others could be heard.

"Hatch?"

*Pang* the sound of something fracturing came from above on impulse Mai reacted first as Naru had turned to look at the ceiling and was momentarily stunned.

She pushed him down to the floor but he recovered and instantly turned over to cover her.

An intense low pitched crashing sound, echoed loudly on the room.

...

..

...

"N-naru?" Mai blinked to the darkness that surrounded them.

She could feel his weight on top of her, the warm of his body gave him away, his legs were interlaced and his face was buried on her neck.

To say she was blushing will be underrated.

'co-come on Mai, get yourself together! Accident, this is an accident, don't get ahead of yourself you're 16! At least wait 2 years! 2 years! No dirty thoughts!

She felt him move, and a moan escaped her when the weight shift.

"..." She also felt him froze on the spot. A shaky voice inquired "Mai?"

"..." She froze too she didn't mean to make that sound, her ribs still hurt... "Na-Naru?'

'fake it, fake it as best as you can' her instincts kicked in.

If she was busted or not, she couldn't tell because at the same time the noise grew stronger.

"Mai!"

That was Ayako's lament.

"We are fine." Naru answered, his voice back on the way it was.

"Naru?! What happened?!" That was Lin-san's voice.

"The ceiling collapsed. The floor also caved in. That's all."

Naru answered as though nothing had happened. He pushed the debris out of the way and stood up. Then turned to Mai

"Is everything all right?"

Mai smiled tiredly and took the hand that was offered to her "the world is spinning and I haven't used "that" so we'll call it even"

Naru raised and eyebrow but simply carried her when she stumbled over.

"Hey, Naru I'm heavy, I'm fine by my own!" Mai exclaimed but held onto him for dear life, if he dropped her it wouldn't be funny.

"What are you talking about?" He slightly made her jump in his arms. A small show of his strength

"What?! You called me fat!" A blush settled on her face, probably from anger.

"That doesn't mean I can't pick you up" he smirked at her and held her up so Lin could pull her up from the door

"Ugh" she would kick him if he wasn't her boss

"Are you hurt?" Yasuhara asked

"I'm not sure. I think not."

Yasuhara let out a breath with a "hu".

When she turned back blankly, Naru grasped Lin-san's hand and emerged from the room.

"You're all right?" he asked him

"Ah. It's not a big deal." he answered as though it was an insignificant event.

The monk said, "What do you call a 'no big deal'? The ceiling fell in!"

"The ceilings of this type of buildings are only made up of soft wooden boards. It's no big deal. Mai, are you injured?"

"..." Mail simply stared at the ceiling.

"Mai?"

"It has hatched." she continued when everyone had turned to look at her "They have always been dormant. Now they have already gathered enough energy to hatch. If we don't stop them now, no one will be able to"

She stared deeply in to Naru's eyes, he returned the same stare...

* * *

Muahahaha step one make them conscious of each other achieved... Step two... Buahahaha. Btw I noticed that in the manga Naru is 19 and Mai 16 but the novel previously said Naru 17 Mail 16 so I will leave it that way, it works that both of them are minors. This is based on Japan so for marriage and the like (s**) The male partner must be 18 years of age or older and the female partner must be **16 years of age or older**. A person who is under 20 years of age cannot get married in Japan without a parent's approval. And we know that Mai's an orphan so...

Pepe grin but there's a reason why she wishes to wait till 18, as we know she doesn't have any one to support her so she wishes to be economically stable before committing herself to form a family Pepe grin.

 **Review time**!

Jun-shang88: that's the feeling I was intending to make! Thank you! I actually didn't have lab class so I did get a chance to experience the dreadful sensation xD I don't know if I was lucky or not xD hope you liked this update!

Kallen21: here it is! :Laaaa!:

Celline the sleeping beauty: I would do the same as well, run like there's no tomorrow but end up exhausted a minute into the run xD thankfully I'm well! My family is well too *hugs* thank you very much for asking! Hope you are well too! Yup just a bit my chapters get shorter or longer depending on where is the cliffhanger that I would like to leave is xD I promise to go all the way the way to this story! I can't wait to let you guys know what Mai is but I'm taking it slow because I don't want to rush this. That error 404 is doomed! I will rewrite the continuation as many times as it's needed xD and correct Naru will only cry on that kind of situations. Thank you greatly in short I loved the coin part too! In all forms manga, anime and novel *giggles* it's funny and lovely at the same time!

Corpus: you're more than welcome! Love that you're loving it! Thank you for reviewing will continue to do my best!

CaitHawked4Ever: thank you! Yup and scary things are the best seasoning for future spices xD thank you greatly*dancing in joy* NaruXMai forever!

Karibel.Q Flores: lo siento! Hasta yo me quedo emocionada y en suspenso para seguir pero El tiempo no ajusta xD muchas gracias pot El apoyo de agradece infinitamente!

Mortisvenom: thank you so much! I'm blessed to have them! Thank you too for worrying *huge hugs* hope you liked this update! See you soon!

: no prob! She only curses when she's scared, someone will definitely point it out don't worry and I'm so happy to hear your thoughts! Glad that you are loving it so far! *Hugs*

Hikari Ino totally recommend it! I used mangapark to read it although it has advertising it is complete!

LoverofAnime27: thank you so much! I'm eager to write it! Don't worry keep guessing as much as you want and Mai's not a cultivator unless Gene is since he is molding part of her to be a perfect medium such as him. The closest so far is the shaman that's all I can say xD Naru's cute in his own way xD happy that you got a great read! Thank you *super hugs* will continue to update, improve the best I can and keep posting! *Bows*


	27. Chapter 27

Hi! It's "semana Santa" week so although I had to work till Thursday I was giving Friday as a day off, managed to do most of the things I needed. Happy dance *

Who's ready for more? Then let's jump to the story

* * *

"She really is a psychic, how would she know there was a shrine on our school grounds otherwise?" Yasuhara had an impressed face while he looked at the sleeping brunette that lay on the makeshift bed on the work room.

"Yeah she may be an idiot, one way or another, but she's pretty useful in our cases" monk laughed.

Masako simply rolled her eyes "even if she knows that there's a shrine, what use is there, is not like it's related to this case"

"Well about that, I wouldn't be to sure but once we're done with the summoning we bury the paper used for the kokkuri-san on that shrine's grounds..."

"Oi oi, you can't be serious... That sounds like a curse" Bou-san looked sick

"Eh is it that bad?" Yasuhara grew pale...

"That's right, if it ends being a curse then this is bad news, let's wait for Naru, the meeting with the principal shouldn't take that long. Besides all this talk is making Mai have a nightmare" Ayako sighed wiping Mai's tears from her face.

"Sakauchi-kun... Sorry... I'm sorry,"

"Eh? Is Mai-chan having another post-cognition dream" John asked, with a worried face.

"..." Masako simply hid her face with her kimono sleeve and the rest simply sighed.

...

By the time she woke up, it was the next day. When she opened her eyes she saw the ugly expressions of 7 people squeezed into the tiny Work Room: Naru, Lin-san, the Monk, John, Ayako, Masako and Yasuhara. Mai asked them what had happened after the previous night's incident.

In short the principal had brought a few teachers along to kick them out of the school. After they saw the floor of the Sickbay, they did turn green, but despite that, they remained very stubborn about not closing the school. Matsuyama, who had came along, insinuated that they had purposely caused the floor to collapse.

Furthermore, they made Naru and the others wait in the Meeting Room, while they gathered the teachers and began a so-called emergency staff meeting.

In the end the meeting took the whole morning, and the conclusion was "cease the investigation, so please leave."

Even though Naru told them many times that the situation in the school was very dangerous, and that if the investigation was not allowed to continue the danger would escalate, they refused to agree.

"Whatever we say, the teachers seem to think that we played some trick on them."

The monk sighed.

"..." Mai swallowed,

"En, I supposed this is the so-called limits of our abilities. If we drop the request mid-way we would not be allowed to enter the school. This, too, is inevitable."

Naru chewed his lips on hearing the Monk's words.

"That is very dangerous… do you want to leave it be?" Ayako protested

Without thinking, Mai blurted out, before monk could reply "And… if it is allowed to go on what will happen in the end? Would it be as expected, only the strongest spirit remains?"

"What did you say?" Naru reacted to her words

Mai who had grabbed a bottle of water and drank some had nearly dropped it when she was asked so seriously. Her back straightened.

"I mean, if the number of spirits continues to decrease… that is to say, if they continue to cannibalize, what would happen? The last remaining spirit would be too strong, and we would be incapable of taking care of it ourselves, right?"

"Cannibalize, and the last remaining spirit…?"

Naru showed a startled expression.

"What's up?"

His expression was serious.

"What a scary situation… Could this possibly be… a Kodoku making use of spirits…"

"Kodoku?"

When Naru said this, an expression of sudden realization crossed even Lin-san's face.

"Well I have no idea what you refer as kodoku but if is a type of curse then we thought so too, after all they were burying the kokkuri-san paper underneath a shrine"

Bou-san handed the paper to Naru.

"That right it's a type of curse... Lin" Naru gave the paper to him.

"Excuse me... What's going on?" Mai raised her hand, Naru sighed.

"Ignorant."

"I'm really sorry for that."

"This so called 'Kodoku' is a type of curse. Curses can be made using dolls, talismans; there are various different ways to do it. Amongst them is a method called 'Kodoku' that makes use of living things."

Naru tapped the tatami with his finger.

"There are a lot of traditional methods that have been passed down. But we don't know what it is really like. That part was probably not transmitted. This is an ancient Chinese method of cursing.

"Kodoku makes use of normal worms. While the golden silkworm is more representative, it is not confirmed what type of worm is really used. In fact there is the use of snakes, centipedes and the like.

"After catching a few of these worms they are placed in a bottle or pot which is buried underground. After a few months the bottle is dug out, and because the worms feed on each other only one remains. Kodoku is a way of cursing that makes use of this worm."

"How cruel…"

"Yes…

He continued to explain that depending on how it is used it could bring riches to the caster or could be used as a death curse... With the price of offering a life as sacrifice. To get rid of it, they will cover the pot in riches and whoever pick it up on ignorance will get devoured... That was called the kakinsan or the dowry insect...

Pointing out the similarities between the pot of worms and this school Mai understood why he had called this case a "kodoku"

"If that's the case, if only the strongest spirit remains, wouldn't the school be forced to feed it? Regularly give it a living human." Mai grew pale

"Hey! Don't discuss that anymore!" Ayako shouted loudly.

"And if this is not done it will eat its owner. Under these circumstances, who is the owner?" Monk asked

Naru respond calmly. "It should be all the students who summoned the spirits."

"Then..." Mai started but was interrupted by Ayako who had shoved on her mouth an onigiri rice ball. Mai blinked and ate her breakfast in a daze like state, a bit more and she would had fainted.

Monk asked for Mai... " Is there a way to solve this?"

Naru simply turned to his tall assistant

"Lin, can it be done?"

Lin-san tilted his head slightly. Examining the paper

He squinted his eyes... "If you wish for madness, bury it on the crossing of paths…" he growled and continued

"If you wish to kill, bury it beneath the palace."

'ah his blobs are growling too, wait, palace? You mean shrine?' confusion was written on Mai's face

Lin-san looked straight ahead.

"This is the seal of the curse. If it is buried beneath a shrine, it can become a killing curse." he looked at Naru.

"There is no way to neutralize the danger of the Kodoku. The only way is" Lin began but Naru interrupted.

"Gold Married Silkworm. Which is to pass the curse on to another person?" Naru asked and Lin nodded.

"That is what I think. To whom should we pass it to then?"

Naru thought a little more and asked...

"Is it confirmed that this is a kodoku?"

"Yes. Fortunately the ones who made and activated the curse are only outsiders. If it were me, this single piece would have been enough to kill a person."

"What will happen when the Kodoku is complete?"

"This person will die."

Naru nodded and brought his hand to his face in thinking pose.

"Who is it?" Mai asked...

"Matsuyama Hideharu."

Everyone in the room growled.

"Although it's a person whom I will not feel sorry for even if he died, I cannot stand aside and let him be killed. Lin let's go talk with the principal once more"

Lin nodded and followed him out just when he was about to leave, he spun his finger on the air. One of his blobs stayed and landed on Mai's shoulder.

She blinked and covered her mouth in surprise.

"The world is going to end" Mai mumbled.

"Huh? You said something?" Monk asked as he slumped on a chair

"Nothing, I'm going out to stretch my legs. I will be right back" Mai stood up.

"Hold it young lady. I'm coming with you" Ayako insisted.

"Ahaha" Mai had a drop of sweat behind her head.

...

"Huh? You guys are back way earlier than I thought" monk admitted as he watched both Lin and Naru return.

"Neither Matsuyama nor the principal were there, we were told to return later... Where's Mai?" Naru raised an eyebrow.

"Out with Ayako" monk waved his hand.

"She must have been tired after sleeping for so long" John continued and Naru simply sighed.

"Would you like a cup of tea Naru?" Masako offered, she had remained silent all this time.

He turned to look at Yasuhara while nodding to her offer. The young student was organizing the data on his desk.

Lin had sat down and opened his laptop but just then a chuckle left his lips.

Inquiring on his reaction, Naru raised an eyebrow. Lin answered by tilting his head to the door.

The noise from the outside was growing closer and with it, the voice of the principal could be heard.

"I'm sorry, please continue your investigation" was the first thing he said as he slammed the door open.

Naru blinked, Matsuyama was supporting the injured principal but he looked quite pale. Behind them Ayako and Mai were trying to contain their laughter.

Both monk and John stood up and showed their chairs to the men.

Mai whispered something to John and he quickly went out of base.

"We don't mind continuing the investigation but could we inquire the reason for the change of heart?"

"We were just attacked by a dog as big as the roof!" The principal exclaimed and Matsuyama nodded. "Look at what it did to my leg, with only his saliva! "

His right leg seemed to be burned and was becoming purple. "The ladies managed to defeat that thing with some chants but they said that it had grown because this is a type of curse directed at Matsuyama and that everyone related to him will suffer. Please! You got to save us!"

Naru turned to look at Mai and Ayako. The Miko brushed her hair out while Mai winked at him.

Naru smirked. Both Matsuyama and the principal were scared out of their minds.

Just then John returned with his priest outfit and Naru nodded to him.

"We will continue our investigation and possibly reflect the curse, we will discuss what we had find out after the principal is treated, so we'll take a bit of your time. John, Mai heal him if you please"

"I will do my best mate!" John opened his bible and used his holy water on the principal leg, the water made drizzling noises but the purple color was instantly removed.

Matsuyama eye's looked like they would fall off and the principal's face certainly looked better, if you don't count the river of tears under his eyes.

Mai took out of her bag a chocolate bar and ate it on time record, John stepped aside and she knelt holding her hands on each side of his leg.

"This will hurt and will leave a scar I ask for your comprehension" Mai began when the principal nodded.

As soon as her hands began to shine Matsuyama screamed. The principal however held him in place. He had grabbed his arm when the pain started.

As soon as Mai finished, a scar could be seen. She stepped away and sat on her makeshift bed...

Naru nodded to her, and to her surprise Masako handed her a cup of tea.

"I'm sorry..." The doll looking girl whispered to her

"Huh?"

Ayako slapped a wet towel to her forehead before she could even ask why.

"Take it easy"

"Yeah"

As soon as Naru began with his explanation both men turned from green to pale, the realization that it all happened because of Sakauchi-kun had Matsuyama boiling in anger but Yasuhara's input of him being the cause made him pale down.

The principal nodded and promised to deal with him after the matter was over, he asked for a solution and Naru nodded while explaining that they would reflect the curse.

'reflect the curse?' Mai gripped the front of her shirt 'no, trust him...'

"We ask that you give the students a day off, we can't 100% guarantee they will be alright"

The principal and Matsuyama nodded as they left the office.

With a small voice. Mai inquired about reflecting the curse to the students... And Naru calmly responded.

"Everyone must be responsible for their own actions."

"Everyone didn't know!"

"Ignorance is not an excuse."

His cold eyes were directed at her, Mai chewed her lip, stood up and went to the door.

"Mai!" Ayako called out planning to follow her

"Don't... I will cool down, be right back when I stop hating Naru" she closed the door behind her.

"..."

Naru's eyes narrowed then he turned back to look at Lin, who was waiting shadow-like.

"Lin. Start the preparations."

"Yes." He accepted the order and turned to look at his shiki, all of them were worried for Mai, the one that had stay with her the longest was the first one he noticed. He narrowed his eyes and decided to ignore them, he needed all of them there would be no exception.

... Few moments later...

Mai sat down on a staircase. Without knowing the sunset began to settle. She knew Naru was right but she didn't want anyone to get hurt...

Her instinct told her that if she left it to Naru it wouldn't be enough, most will get hurt.

She hit the wall beside, 'if only... If only those things weren't so strong'

She hit it again but this time she laid her head to rest on the wall. 'if only one of them was weakened' she sighed...

"Wait! That's right!" She jumped from her place and instantly smirked, 'we just have to make one weak right?'

"Gene!" She called out to her spirit guide.

Yawning Gene appeared besides her and suddenly stiffened, he knew that look.

"Wait Mai, I don't know what you're thinking, but I smell trouble" he stepped back.

"Hahahaha you're right! It's show time"

* * *

Happy dance I jumped the cringe xD I'm not good with that so hope you don't mind.

How is it? Too fast pace? I tried to keep it in the middle, I really want to get to the blood stained lab *reaches hand to the future*

Anyway, got most of the information summarized and got hold of the novel more than the manga this time. She didn't call Naru a murder but she did say she hated him. Ain't that cute? Hahahaha

Btw I simply justified the reason for her jumping on to danger, like again, this girl knows no limit neither in the manga or novel.

See you soon! Thank kindly for reading!

 **Review time!**

Karibel Q Flores casi casi lo saco El mero dia que comentaste, pero la vida no dejo xD bueno pos aqui esta! Siempre dejo lo del suspenso xD ya es caracteristico de esta historia Sowwy

Guest! I love your reviews! Your guess of what Mai is can't be considered wrong but it ain't right either xD it has a specific name but you kinda have a grasp of what it is but she herself doubted if she was a psychic a few chapters ago, so... Ahhh I want to spoil this so much! But it wouldn't be fun so I'm biting my tongue xD loving that you love it! No prob with you reviewing as guest, simply hearing your thoughts makes me so happy! Narumai Moments are the best I have so much fun writing them so for sure I will write more! Jelly really is the best dessert and it's best served cold... Muahahaha. The marathon idea was on the original novel, different in some way but I kinda dragged it long. I had been chased by a turkey so for sure I can say the adrenaline is quite the blast! Thank you greatly for reviewing! Really loved it and I try to make Mai as independent as possible, after all she had to live alone for quite a while, habits tends to stay, no? Nope she isn't a cultivator either *giggles* for the white crow, that's actually Cannon for Gene and Naru, I made it so Mai was included but you can read the Ono's translation on "yonakayaku translations on Tumblr" there's the Angel with a bicycle where Naru learned magic, and also the bits stories where Naru classified people as pumpkins, right now I don't recall the exact name for the white crow, but you will find it one of them *winks* story short, white crows are people with real psychic strong powers

Celine the sleeping beauty: that's one of the prohibited words, that one and "calm down" when you are angry xD I think it's D, all of the above xD remember that he has psychometry, so he avoids touching others as much as possible xD yup! Lucky Mai "raises eyebrows constantly* love it as well it was the best to write xD same thoughts don't know why they put that info on the manga, they put the birthday etc and Drew them so not sure why. Thank you so much! Staying as healthy as possible! Wishing you the same! Lots of virtual hugs! Will update as soon as possible ;D see you next time dear! *Waves*

Kallen21: thank you so much! I present thee! *Opens door to theater*

Corpus! Thank you greatly *happy dance* added some twist *giggles*

Mortisvenom thank you! You too stay safe and healthy! Best wishes on your job! NaruXMai moments *Nods evily * more are to come muahahaha *sending virtual hugs*

CaitHawked4Ever: really loved that you loved it, we are in lock down too hope this brightens your day *sending virtual bear hugs* spiciness will be added from now one muahahaha

Hikari Ino: *happy dance* *sending virtual hugs*


	28. Chapter 28

Hi!

Work is a bit heavy right now, so I'm sorry for not updating that often, I still get classes on the weekend so my time to rest is little.

Even so I keep reading your reviews! I love them, thank you for keeping up with me ! *Hugs* stay safe ;)

* * *

"Ok, I get it. I understand why you are doing this. What I don't understand is why did you choose the biggest among them all? Are you out of your mind!? I'm pretty sure I didn't touch anything on your head that made you loose a screw" Gene called out to Mai as he chased her down to her destination.

"Stop messing with my brain, would you? I need it, I chose this one because it won't be able to escape or be eaten by the others, besides this one ate Sakauchi-kun"

"So it's for revenge" Gene looked exasperated

"Think what you want. My plan is to beat that thing as much as possible and get out of there like there's no tomorrow"

"Hit and run? That's your plan?" Gene was on the brick of despair,

"Are you with me or not? If the dog had eaten you I would had beaten it out for you" she pointed a finger at him.

To that Gene made a sour face and gave in "fine but if he finds out, is all your fault"

"Yeah yeah, come on" Mai said as she opened the printing room door.

"Wait, I will possess you, i don't want to be sucked in to that thing"

"Whatever, just don't get in my way"

She felt her body turn cold and for a moment she thought she was underwater, it felt suffocating and-

'Mai?' Gene called out telepathically

"Y-yes?"

'you alright?'

"Yeah... Just out of the ordinary. Let's just get over this"

'kay just be careful, btw you still have some of my brother's energy you know? It's a bit out of place here, you better get rid of it'

"Eh? You're telling me this now?"

'Well I have noticed it before but I didn't thought much of it, I mean, it was...'

"You forgot about it, didn't you?"

'no way, how could I-'

"Gene I can feel you freaking out"

'fine, I forgot about it, but it isn't harming you in anyway, actually is even helping you out when you use 'that' you know? Just bringing it up because you may get rid of it using it here'

"Is that so? Well...Now that I think about it, I didn't get a nose bleed when I helped the principal... If it's good then I don't mind having it"

'you might want to reconsider, if you possess such energy, my brother sooner or later will start forming a bond with you'

"Eh? Bond?" Mai blushed while grabbing her face with both hands.

'i mean like a psychic bond of some sorts, don't get so embarrassed I feel your emotions going high wire too, calm down! *Ahem* anyway, he might even be able to read your mind like we're doing right now'

Mai blinked twice and sat on one of the desks, she had been standing on the door for a while now.

"Let's get rid of it"

'oh wow, I can feel the cold of your words'

"Stop teasing, how do I get rid of it?"

'well let me try adding it to your spell, we'll see if it works on that thing'

"Ah right" Mai nodded and turned to look at her left, then to her right. "There's nothing here Gene"

'ah wait a second I kinda turned off your 'medium sensors' accidentally when I possessed you'

"You can do that? I thought I told you to stop messing with my head" Mai growled.

'sorry it's the first time I'm doing this so, I didn't even notice, seriously don't get mad at me, I was always the receptor so I had to have a safety way of blocking unwanted auras or ghost'

"Eh? So you were a medium?" Mai blinked.

'the perfect medium if you would say"

Mai could feel him puffing of his chest.

"Not know for modesty I guess"

'hey!'

Mai giggled out loud, she could feel his embarrassment "I'm kidding, sorry, you're definitely Naru's brother"

'...'

"Gene?" She felt his body froze a bit, a lingering sadness growing up

'I'm turning it on'

"Eh?"

Suddenly, the floor inside was completely covered with water. A dim light oscillated. The air swirled. Mai felt a wave of nausea as she blinked to her surroundings.

She went down the desk. Immediately her feet sank down. It was like stepping on a wet sponge.

'calm down, it's the same place, you're not lost'

"R-right" she placed a hand to her chest, trying to calm her fast beating heart. "This is much more clear than what I'm used to"

'it's hit and run, so will go with everything' Gene ignored her comment, after all, she was currently using his psychic abilities.

Mai swallowed, Gene turning serious made her realize how dangerous this was.

Nodding she took her stance. "Hear me out, this is for Sakauchi-kun and for making Masako cry you dumbass!" She roared her intentions towards the black cocoon that was pasted on the wall.

'and there goes our cover' Gene sighed as the cocoon suddenly moved. The water beneath her made bubbles but Mai didn't care. She interlaced her fingers and began her chant.

"Naumaku, sanmamda, bazaradan, kan."

From the puddle not more than 5 cm deep, arose white bubbles one by one. It looked like there was someone breathing beneath the water.

'keep it up, we are using it on the last sword seal' Gene growled

she could feel the energy she had taken from Naru now, it was in her chest, it hurt but it was less than when she had her hands burned by it.

"Naumaku, sanmamda, bazaradan, kan."

*Gurgle.* The white bubbles seemed to take forms, humanoid forms it was slow but she felt the chill of her instincts kick in

"Naumaku, sanmanda, bazaradan, kan."

Mai released the Acalanatha Seal and gathered the Sword Seal. Time seemed to slow down, her surroundings moved faster while Mai's moment took what felt like an eternity.

Rin (臨). – Across.

A drop of water landed on her face.

Pyō (兵). – Down.

Drops of water began to pour on her face like rain as she continued to chant.

Tō (闘). – Across.

Her chest felt compressed like her heart was being crushed by her ribcage, but it only made her voice scream higher.

Sha (者). – Down.

The humanoid white forms began to approach.

Kai (皆). – Across.

The rain suddenly stopped. A foul smell rose up

Jin (陣). – Down.

The cocoon that was on the wall turned back to look at her. It has eyes on his very surface, it bent its body low and stopped there. The white things moved their limbs as if they were suffering

Retsu (列). – Across.

The cocoons eyes began to roll every where as his body inflated. Mai however felt the pain on her chest go to her hand.

Zai (在). – Down.

'go for it! Gene's voice matched her's in pain.

"Zen (前)!"

The Sword Seal cut vertically downwards. Her fingers broke and at the same time it looked like she slashed the air.

"Be gone!" she screamed and the slash of air cut off the balloon that the cocoon had become. The time went back to normal.

*Boom*

...

"-ne"

"?"

"Noll?" Lin inquired as his hands stopped working for a moment.

"No, it's nothing"

"..."

...

"Are you out of your mind!? Why didn't you call us? You could had died!" Monk scolded Mai, he was panting and nearly all his clothes were covered in blood as well.

"It does not matter anymore. Great, we've caught up with you."

Ayako said as she cleaned her face with a wet towel, the young brunette was completely drenched in blood.

"Let's go. We have to leave the school quickly."

John helped Ayako and Mai up. Masako laid Mai's hand on her shoulder. Her yellow kimono was instantly stained with red.

It was her luck that the cocoon had exploded, she was sent with a wave of blood towards the door and it just so happened that the monk had opened it in time to catch her..

Story short now she was in Ayako's apartment. The contrast of plants and Ayako seemed to calm everyone up and when Mai came out of the bathroom she confessed everything.

...

"If what you said it's true, then what about us? Didn't you trust us?" Bou-san looked hurt.

"I will be completely honest with you guys so don't get me wrong" Mai said looking directly at Monk's face, he had taken a bath so his hair was not on his usual poni tail.

The monk nodded and got serious, even Ayako and John turned to hear her.

"I completely forgot you guys existed"

It started with John but everyone in the room facepalmed it ended with Masako as the last one.

They didn't say it out loud but just a glance to each other and they all seemed to agree 'she will get herself killed one day'

"You've taken years off my life." Ayako sighed.

"Sorry."

"Really... You're really an impatient and reckless person."

"Ugh"

"Well thank God she's alright" John patted her head.

Monk simply sighed and leaned back, resting his head on the couch.

"Monk, everyone... I'm sorry and thank you"

"No biggie, just don't do it again. Got it?" Bou-san held his pinky finger to her and she instantly promised him.

"Okay that's enough for today let's get some rest" Ayako clapped.

Everyone nodded and made themselves at home, Mai turned to Masako, her eyes were close to shutting down but she managed to talk to the medium.

"I hit it with all I got in your stead too" smiling her consciousness faded

Masako simply smiled softly as she herself fell asleep.

..

Early in the morning everyone got to the school, Mai managed to walk even though she felt so heavy.

A small misunderstanding arose when she saw the auditorium full of people, she was about to run and open the door but having overworked herself she literally gave a small step when she fell down. Both John and the Monk managed to calm her and explain that they could only see dolls,

She herself verified through the small window and confirmed it was true. Without intending to she brought her injured hand with the broken fingers to her face. Tears ran down from her eyes as both Lin and Naru opened the door to the auditorium.

...

After checking through calls that all the students were unharmed, Mai ran to look for Naru and share the news. She had recover a bit after eating but what gave her strength was her emotions.

It didn't take long for her to find him.

When he ended apologizing to her, she couldn't take it anymore and let it out.

"That's too sly!"

"… ha?"

Naru jumped in shock.

"I clearly wanted to apologize! But for you to say it first, Naru you're too sly!" tears threatened to fall.

"Ah, that."

"You, Naru, always take whatever advantage there is! That's too sly!"

"Hey."

"Because Naru is really very sly."

Naru expression turned into one of resigning the fight. He extended his white hand, and suddenly tapped her forehead, the small electric current shut her up.

Following that he smiled slightly, then walked in the direction of the office. Shots of 'his' weapons were fired at her, it seemed to have slightly brushed her heart. She couldn't help but blush and held her chest while looking at the sun for it to burn her eyes...

'i won't fall so easily' her mind repeated as tears threatened to fall when her eyes started to hurt.

Naru didn't pay any attention to her as he focused on Lin.

"Let's burn and cleanse these."

Lin-san looked at the mountain of dolls piled in the Gymnasium. Naru nodded.

"This would be safer. – Monk, we're counting on you."

"Yeah but before that, there's something we need to report"

Monk pointed towards Mai and explained what had happened

Mai couldn't help but try to run but it was cut short as Ayako and John stopped her.

"Guys... Why?" Mai cried but Lin and Naru were still listening to Bou-san, she could only see the shock on Lin and his shiki. Naru had her back to her.

"It wasn't our place to scold you... just give up" Ayako smirked.

"Sorry Mai-chan they needed to know" John smiled kindly to her. They had dragged her towards both men.

When she was close enough, her instincts made goosebumps run up and down her back.

Lin's shiki surrounded her, each of them making small growls in discontent. It was funny how both men turned to her in sync but she couldn't laugh even if she tried to fake it.

She stared at the ground and trembled. She could feel cold air coming her way in Naru's direction. He was for the better word, quite angry at her...

Her mind trying to escape wondered 'when will Gene's nap end?'

* * *

Uff Gene's alright just taking a nap but didn't know where to add that note so I added at the end, btw after quite awhile I had come to realize both twins feel like they are compared to the other, they kinda have an inferiority complex, well in my version is clear xD

A silent Christmas and then my long awaited bloodstained lab! *Happy dance*

Nagisa Akane: thank you! Thank yous! Hope you liked this one too *hugs* yup I'm starting it next chapter and yup his name is Kenji I can't wait to add jellies to Naru's plate hahahah. I tried to make her strong and reliable but at the same time a bit of a lost cause, hope I succeed xD

Honeycreeme: no problem I had read them! Thank yous! It means a lot! I often had to edit my chapters to make them feel less rushed so I truly appreciate the feedback :'D I don't mind making it up to the house where nightmare dwells it all depends however on the reviews I get for when we get to the forgotten children that were I have the story in mind so far but my version can go even further if my viewers wish me to, it would be an honor ;) *bows* thank yous really I will continue to improve and do my best *hug*

LoverofAnime27: thank you! No worries glad to hear from you on this review, hint is somewhat like a shaman but actually a more advanced version *giggles* it not Right nor wrong in a way but shaman is not the name, I think you may find some hints in this chapter, with all the on and off that's going on on Mai's head... Ah lips are sealed xD mmm psychic she herself doesn't consider herself as one but thanks to Gene and Naru's "guidance" it could be said that she's a psychic however rather than a healer or spiritual one she's more like Uri Geller that's why Naru's having a rough time coming up with what Mai is. XD yup poor Mai, on both fainting on formalin and getting chased down by the dog. Gene may want them together but he would be happy too if Mai stopped getting herself on trouble, specially since he had seen her past. You're 100% correct there! It's because of the issue of the clairvoyance that Lin's shiki danced behind him when Mai got out of the pond and Naru held her hand on Ayumi's case. Yup Mai really wanted to be a normal girl sometime ago but she gave up on the idea on my version she simply wants to live a peaceful life, thou her emotions make her go beyond the limit to help others so she ends up under a mess. Hating Naru is kind of a rejection to his ways but at the same time her anchor to reality, it makes her realize her job is not a game. Lin is a softy at heart and his shiki strangely got attached to her so he kinda resent her a bit for getting too close to him. *Happy dance* Ayako and Mai make a great team so I wanted to show it off and yup it would had been a different story had someone supported Sakauchi-kun. Mmm although orihime inoue from bleach does possess slightly similarities with Mai I most deny it, Mai doesn't reject events ;) not a shinigami either she's alive and a human to boost xD it's kinda simple what she is but it's because it's simple that it's hard to distinguish, perhaps this chapter showed some insight xD thank you kindly for reviewing! Will continue to update and keep you on the limbo for what Mai is *giggles* just a few chapters more xD *hugs*

Kallen21: thank you so much *claps hands and a silverware plate with this chapter is presented with a ribbon on top*

Corpus: silent Christmas coming up with Naru/ Mai and Lin as a chef for jellies coming soon! For me too as well I just love how original it was and I can't help but make it scarier *ahem* *grins innocently* thank yous *hugs*

RichkeyZero: thank you for reviewing *hugs* will try to update often! Soon it shall all be revealed *laughs evily cute*

Mortisvenom: from my version I can say it was because he didn't want to give false hope, he would rather her hate him for the truth than make her believe in him and fail her, resulting her hating him for lying. If he was to be hated either way he preferred one where the responsibility on his shoulders wouldn't collapse. Yup I used to do the same until I read Ono's translation on bits 1,2,3 were they describe the twins life and their past. Quite heavy. Thank you hope you liked this one *hugs*

CaitHawked4Ever: thank you! Yes it was a bit challenging to stay within character specially since Mai tends to be naive in some areas but I hope I will be able to keep on Ono's intention on my version *hugs* hope this brightens your day even for a little bit within the lockdown.


	29. Chapter 29

Hihi this story is one of my favorites but since this is a rewrite do keep in mind that it will be a different view hope you guys like it.

Sorry for not updating last week, class and work didn't allowed me to *hides underneath covers*

I will try to minimize the scolding as much as possible, I will leave the necessary but you guys might actually guess what Mai is in this chapter is a bit obvious *giggles*

Sticking to the manga mostly this time, so Masako and Ayako are off *speaksnoevilmonkey* I will also skip slightly the explanation, we all know the story of how Kenji-kun lost his whistle but will use the necessary info to make this rich.

* * *

The car ride back to the office felt like she had spent a lifetime on top of an iceberg. No one dare to say a word.

If the principal hadn't interrupted Lin and Naru from storming against her, she would had gone home by now. Just like the rest...

Now that she thought about it, Yasuhara was the last to see them off, the principal seemed to be quite satisfied with the results so he left him off the hook. She smiled softly, he will definitely live long with that attitude just like monk had said.

Mai massaged her injured fingers, she tried to think different things in order to forget her situation.

'Gene has gone to sleep it will be a while for him to recover' She recalled him saying that to her prior his departure.

When her thoughts began to wander she noticed the office building and instantly her body became stiff

Naru got off from the van first the Mai pushed the chair and got off. Lin followed not long after. His blobs securing Mai so she wouldn't run away. As if that wasn't enough, he decided to cut any escape route by being the last one to climb the stairs.

If she were to describe her situation, she would compare herself as person going straight towards the Court House without a lawyer.

Mai swallowed hard as she counted the number of stair steps. She couldn't even bring herself to rise her view in fear that she will meet Naru's eyes...

Once Naru unlocked the door and stepped in, she was called to his office door.

"Um... Should I... Make tea?" Her voice trembled

The slam of his door was her only answer. Lin stepped in and opened it up, he motioned for her to get inside. He was to take part of it too, it seems.

With heavy steps she dragged her body to get inside. Naru was sitting on his chair giving his back to her. She silently sat down as Lin took his place leaning over the wall to her right. His blobs retreated back to him. But they stayed and watched like Hawks.

"I will ask this once... What did you do?" Naru's voice was cold and sharp, no hints of a question but rather an accusation tone took place in his voice.

Flinching, she lowered her head, she squeezed her eyes shut as she swallowed her saliva that seemed to carry her heart. Without making him wait, she confessed what had happened leaving the bond forming thing to the last.

She referred to Gene as 'he' all this time so without her knowledge Lin had linked 'he' to 'Genie' her spirit guide.

When she couldn't stand the drop on the temperature she told him about the bond.

The temperature suddenly returned to normal in a blink of an eye. The window besides Lin suddenly cracked and the man himself nearly fell down.

The tall assistant held himself with both hands on the wall. His blobs were making swirls in the air. If she had a little bit of courage left she would had asked what was wrong but the sudden change in their behavior scared her to the point that she couldn't open her mouth.

"..."

"..."

"..."

The silence prevailed in the room and no change on the temperature or anything else happened...

She swallowed once again and tried to get an answer "umm..." to which she was interrupted

"Go home"

""Huh?" She heard Naru's order but he was still facing away from her.

"You're dismissed for today, be thankful that I didn't fired you or called your parents"

Her eyes widened and suddenly her face turned to a hurt one. To which only Lin saw, it was less than a second before she left but he could confirm now, what he thought on their first meeting... Something was definitely off with her.

The bell on the front door signalled her departure.

"Noll" Lin called out as he straightened his posture. There's a more important matter to address.

Naru responded by turning around and interlacing his fingers. He held the stare his assistant was giving him as he ordered him

"Don't, we don't know for sure that the bond is forming. Our Main objective is to bring back Gene not to look for a replacement"

"But-'

"No, there's too many variables and unknown factors, she might be a 'white crow' but that itself is of no importance. We don't know the extent of her abilities much less do we know what classification she falls in, there's no point in making any conclusions right now. Don't make any rush judgement and not a word to anyone about this, it will only complicate things"

His assistant understood what he meant so he nodded, to which Naru left a relief sigh.

"... As you wish" Lin bowed and left his office. It was not his place to make a decision, he just needed to follow orders.

...

'he wouldn't have known' Mai opened her apartment door as she stepped inside.

"I'm home!" She called in as she faced the two figures in the altar set on the living room. She lightened up the candle sticks and made a small pray.

"Naru wouldn't know... He isn't trying to find, what I am after all" she felt tears drop from her eyes as she faced her parents pictures.

She put a hand to her heart. "It's alright mom, dad. Am ok, I'm strong" her hand began to shine "I am happy"

The light faded and a beautiful smile adorned her face. She stood up and went to her kitchen. A few drops of blood were mixed with the drops of her tears on the floor but she was too happy to notice her nose bleeding.

...

"What a beautiful tree Mai-chan"

"Thank you John! It's been a while since we last saw each other, all good?" Mai offered a cup of tea to him and he kindly accepted it.

"A few months went, by the blink of the eyes, I would like to say all is good but, I can't exactly say it is. Is Shibuya-san around? I would like to ask for his help"

"Eh?"

As if Naru was summoned the front door was opened, he stepped inside followed by Lin.

...

"Wow it's a real church! It's my first time visiting one!" Mai ran towards the entrance, the snow made everything look like a movie it was quite beautiful

"Mai don't run, or you will fall" the monk scolded her as he got out of the car.

"Geez you sound like Ayako" She pouted.

"The old hag couldn't make it today, so it's up to me now to keep you in check"

"In your dreams old man" she kicked him slightly but the monk did a show none the less.

"Hey John didn't you see her? She just kicked me, tell her to calm down"

'what happened to keep me on check?' Mai pouted, not like she wanted to be scolded but wanting to see the extent he would go to.

"It's Christmas so it's understandable that both Hara-san and Matsuzaki-san, couldn't make it. The streets are too saturated" John laughed ignoring the Monk's comment but Naru didn't.

"Mai! If you came here to play, you can go home now" his voice was sharp.

"Right! This is a job, I'm fully aware of that boss" she saluted. Her hand was healed, and all was back to normal with the exception of Naru distancing himself from time to time. Who would had thought that he was the same person that had bit her ear quite a few cases ago.

Mai sighed and followed them.

Gene had only shown himself once when Naru made her reach him out a few weeks ago, but no clue to what they had discussed. She was left clueless to what had happened but she remembered that a few buttons on the top of her shirt were off and that her head hurt from an unknown reason.

"Huh?" She stared at the marble figures on top of the building, 'why is there a skull over there?'

Mai was about to point it out but one of the kids that was playing around grabbed her hand. 'I can't say it infront of them'

"Toujo-san" John called to the man that was surrounded by kids.

"Brown-kun glad you could make it" the priest patted John's shoulder

Nodding John introduced them to him and explained that he was the client that requested their assistance.

"There's a lot of kids" the monk commented to which John smiled.

"Toujo-san watches the children of foreign workers, so in a way they're kids from all over the world" the child holding Mai's hand smiled to her as another kid grabbed her left hand.

John continued when he patted their heads "Toujo-san takes care of them while their parents are working but sometimes he also takes in orphaned children and gives them a home.

"I see" Mai smiled sadly and caressed the childrens head.

"Just a moment please I will look for someone to watch over the childrens and we can move to a better place, I will let you know the details there" Toujo-san called out.

"No problem, Mai"

Naru turned to her, she blinked but leaned her head to the right to inquire.

"Play with them and keep an eye for any trouble" Mai saluted and the kids celebrated.

"Ah I will send someone to back you up, there's quite an amount of them" Toujo-san said before Mai was dragged out. She nodded before being carried away. It didn't take long for a person to come out of the church. She looked kind and the children were referring to her as nanny.

Mai was momentarily distracted by her appearance so when it was her turn to kick the ball she sent it flying towards the trees.

"Don't worry, I will go get it really quick!" She said and motioned to the 'nanny' where she was going.

...

"We were unable to find him, we searched for an entire week but the only thing we found was his whistle. the police even went as far as to check the water course up to the river connection but no luck. He was the best at hiding till the very end, we thought he was abducted but the kids began to get possessed and we discovered that Kenji-kun had died" Toujo-san expressed his sadness as he told them the story

"Has any of the children possessed suffer from it?" Naru asked.

"Oh no, so far Kenji-kun only hides and plays the "stickie" sound, it is quite loud so we hear it even inside the church... It's been so often that we are starting to worry, the children who were possessed and weren't found will come back by their own if they aren't found before the afternoon so many of the kids have stopped searching"

"So in other words, come find me huh?" Monk commented.

John nodded, "we believe that he wants his real body to be found, that's why it doesn't matter how many exorcisms we do, he will possess another child"

"There's always a possibility that he will become desperate and become an evil spirit" Naru murmured.

*Bang*

"Ah that's the sound.. the child missing from the morning has began the play"

*Bang, bang, bang*

...

 _Are you ready? Ready or not here I come!_

 _*Laughter*_

 _"I'm over here, hey please hurry, **hurry up and find me"**_

...

"Where am I?" Mai felt her voice echo, she remembered chaising a kid that was possessed but when she grabbed his hand everything turned black.

...

"Tanatte? Where have you been? We have been searching for you all morning" the nanny hugged the child and both Toujo-san and John looked puzzled.

"What's wrong?" Monk asked

"He was the missing kid for today but who's making that sound?"

*Bang bang*

...

"Gene? Hey Gene, where are you?" Mai called out but no matter how long she waited she never received an answer. She felt heavy, but she decided it was best to walk and get out of the dark... a child seemed to appear infront of her but why was she so tired?

"Ne... Are you a child from the church?"

He nodded and her view suddenly closed in as she lost consciousness..

...

"Mai?" The monk held her shoulder, the stick banging the wall stopped.

She turned to see him and smiled.

"What are you doing here? Wait what happened to your eyes?" Monk let go of her as he noticed her eyes were a blue color.

She leaned her head and continued to smile as if she was inquiring a question.

"Is it Kenji-kun?" John asked.

Mai smiled and nodded multiple times before reaching to Toujo-san shirt

"Ah, Kenji-kun these people have come to find you"

He montioned to Naru and company. Naru who was lost in thought for a moment only nodded but when her eyes landed on Lin they widened.

"Father!" She ran up to him and jumped with full force. Her tackle was too sudden and he ended up on the floor, Mai on top of him.

A silly face adorned his features as he turned to John and Toujo-san.

"Ah it was over 30 years ago so my memory isn't that accurate but it appears that you have a similar appearance to his father." Toujo-san explained.

Lin's blobs were for some reason keeping their distance, they stayed on a single place watching the scene unfold, waiting for orders.

"Huh?" The silly face grew in depth. Just then Mai kissed his cheek. Everyone's eyes widened.

John panicked "ah ah ah, he had never kiss anyone" he turned his face from both Lin and Naru...

Lin's face turned red when he heard him say "kiss" but to Mai it didn't matter she gave him a huge hug... he could feel Naru's glare on him.

Monk was nearly on the floor from containing his laughter

In such situation Lin couldn't help but beg John to do something about it.

Naru however coldly smiled as he stopped John from getting ready. "No, look after your little kid, daddy. John, monk-sank come with me for a minute"

"What?" Lin called out reaching his hand towards their now far away backs.

"Come Kenji-kun, let's play inside, it's getting cold" Toujo-san extended his hand to Mai.

She shook her head.

"It's alright your daddy will go with us"

Lin internally cried as he was dragged towards a play room.

...

"John, is it normal for the kids to change eye color when possessed?"

"No, this is the first time it happened... Toujo-san had previously mentioned that the hiding time had increased and that the possessions were now more frequent than before. So he may be getting stronger"

"Say, what would happen if we were to try an exorcism?" Monk asked both of them.

"With these changes it's unlikely that he will let himself be exorcised. He will probably resist" Naru held a thinking pose as he replied.

"I think he will be quite angry and will possess another kid, after all he has finally reunited with whom he believes is his father" John sighed

"That's true, well as long as Kenji-kun is with Lin, he won't hide"

They all nodded and just then Lin called out from a window on the far right.

"Naru! Please help me out here!" He exclaimed all red as Mai clinged to his back.

A cold and chilling stare was directed at him.

"I need you to take care of Mai for a while", his angelic smile took place. "Play with her"

Lin's face turned white "wh-what?" His voice trembled.

"John and Monk-san please stay with them"

"Okay"

Monk nodded as he controlled his laughter. "What about you?"

"I will start the search"

...

Moving towards the van Naru pulled out and old map from around 30 years ago. The place hadn't changed much it was still surrounded by trees. He went to the front seat and sat down. The temperature was getting colder. Using a marker he added the radius of the church grounds...

It took him a while but he could confirm that the land wasn't hollow, a kid at that age will suddenly think that a whole on the ground is a great place to hide and will definitely fall inside or be buried by land subsidence...

He massaged his eyes, 'a cup of tea would be great...' his eyes narrowed... As his thoughts wandered.

Mai kissing Lin was out of his expectations... There's no way anything between them could happen. Lin hates Japanese people...

He remembered Lin turning red, his hand became a fist. 'What they do isn't my concern'

was it really? She was his employee, his assistant, well now she was an investigator but she was still under his wing... She could bark all she wanted but she had to-

"Naru!" Monk's call made him come back to reality.

He turned to look at the sky, it was turning yellow, sunset was close by, how much time had he lost on useless thoughts?.

"Naru!"

"What's wrong?" He got out of the van and met with Lin, John and Monk.

"Kenji-kun has run off, well Mai has" Bou-san explained...

Naru turned to Lin but John interrupted him "it's raining Mai it's not wearing a jacket"

"You need to grow up Lin" Naru sighed and turned around.

"What?"

"We can't keep him in check if he is hiding"

Lin wanted to retord that he didn't know about that but the sound cut him off.

*Bang bang bang*

"The noise, it stopped" John commented

"Could it be?" Monk ran towards the water course he nearly slipped due to the rain but he went as fast as he could, that was the place the whistle was found and was also the place Mai had been found first.

"How is it?" John called out using his arm as shelter for the rain.

"No, she's not here"

Monk relaxed but addressed the men behind him.

"Had we upset him? He no longer cares to be found?"

"..."

...

 _'Daddy.. daddy you're leaving me again?'_

 _"I will try to come back as soon as possible, so please listen to what father Toujo says and be a good boy okay?"_

 _'how soon will you be back? Tomorrow the day after? Daddy, hey daddy I will be a good boy come soon ok?' he cried but his words never left his mouth._

"Ugh I'm cold" Mai whispered as she hugged herself with the rest of energy she had. She had woke up in the same darkness but it didn't matter now. She wanted to sleep, those memories left her tired.

...

"Thank God the rain stopped" John commented.

"Yeah but it's dark, not even the flashlights are helping"

They didn't bring any luggage so Nanny had prepared a change of clothes for whenever they found Mai.

Naru's mood has gone south. They tried calling her home but no one answered. They didn't know the exact address so they couldn't go to her house and look for her stuff.

Lin was no better, his shiki didn't feel her presence...

"Mai-chan?"

"Eh? You found her?" Monk ran to John and so did Lin and Naru.

"Yeah, a pine cone fell on me and I turned to look up..." He pointed his flashlight up, Kenji-kun used his hand to cover his eyes

"So the reason no one could ever find him was because no one thought to look up" Naru nodded. It explained why neither kids not adults searches worked.

With ease monk climbed the tree and brought her down. He pushed his jacket on top of her but Mai simply ran to hug Lin...

Lin looked awkward but patted her head none the less and she smiled sadly to him.

"Kenji is time to go home, where are you?"

Mai turned to meet Naru and nodded, then turned to look at the top of the church.

Naru's eyes widened as he used the flashlight on the statue.

"Found him"

"In a place like that" John covered his mouth

Lin was the most shocked but rather than waiting for any reaction Mai went to Naru and grabbed his hand. She held it with both hands and smiled kindly to him.

"Thank you"

Her eyes closed and her body gave in... Naru's instinctively hugged her.

...

"Where is he? We can't find him anywhere"

'oh no, father and the rest are leaving me... I'm right here... Why can't anyone find me?' his body was turning cold his clothes were soaked and his breathing was slowing down.

'it's cold' a tear ran down his cheeks. 'daddy..'

He smiled sadly, 'if my dad was here, he would had found me for sure' his body lit up when he remembered his father's gentle caressing on his head

...

"Hey Mai, come on drink this" Bou-san held her as he tried to make her drink a pill. She opened her eyes slightly, the fever made it hard for her to see but she could see that Lin and Naru were not that far off to his left.

"Kenji-kun... Skull up" she held on to him rather than take the pill.

"Wow easy there, we found him already, don't worry" monk pushed her down.

".." tears left her eyes but she smiled in happiness.

"You knew where he was?" Naru asked as she managed to swallow the pill and sat down.

She nodded, "I saw the skull when we arrived"

"..."

"..."

Everyone sighed so she continued because she thought it didn't explain anything "I knew it was Kenji-kun after a dream..."

"Alright, we understand, go back to sleep. We'll talk about that later. Get some rest, father Toujo will make a memorial service tonight for Kenji-kun. So take it easy, you have a cold" monk patted her head.

Smiling Mai went back to sleep. Everyone sighed one more time before discussing what to do from there on.

After a short talk it was decided they will stay for the night and leave on the morning.

Snow silently fell from the sky, making a white Christmas night.

* * *

Hehehe someone's jelly ... Gene didn't appear this time, the twins are keeping an useless social distancing in here xD

Ready for the blood stained lab? It's finally at the reach of my hands *dance*

 **Review time!**

Ghostnight thank you so much! I'm very happy you loved them *hugs* white crows are the best *giggles* I loved making that reference.

Kirah14 thank you so much I moved to a different channel as I couldn't use the drawing program for that one, it's called Stephr xD I did a gameplay of "we came back" I appreciate the support *sending lots of love* I'm sorry I haven't replied there but I saw it from my other channel thank you greatly!

Kallen21 hope you like this one too *hugs*

Guest: thank yous! Yes I'm making Naru jelly so he can stand up for what he wants hehehe love that you loved it. Yup she knows a bit of music she loves to sing so she can create her own music, not sure how I will add it but she's kinda like a composer... Dj? Hahahahahahah we'll see xD I have seen that anime and I loved the shivers they gave me when they played the koto. I wouldn't mind extending the story, actually I'm looking forward for the reviews at the end of the manga chapter it will all depend on the reviews given there *hugs* see you soon!.

Guest: thank yous! Hope you enjoy this chapter too! *Dances*

Nagisa Akane: thank you! Yup can't wait to write that off, I mean in here, they have just come to realize how much they care and react when she's involved hehehe. *Hugs* will try to update often!

LoverofAnime27 thank you so much! Work is still the same but we are getting used to the overload so I believe we're evolving hahaha *hugs* thankfully we are taking measures to ensure our safety thank you kindly for worrying. I hope you too are as safety as you can*hugs* yup Gene and Naru can't control her at all they need to learn xD Gene's heart beat may no longer beat but the attacks make him beat none the less xD yup definitely and he knows what she is but not sure since there's something off on her, so he will never tell. Knowing what she is, doesn't exactly mean he will accept her... Mai is just better at taking action, she doesn't think things through here, she's been alone all this time so the thought never crossed her mind to know that she was no longer alone... Heart attack inducing is a light word for the blood stained lab hahahahahahah we'll see if they can even sleep afterwards... In this case Lin was the most shocked and emotionally affected if I could say, he did panic a bit when the rain started xD yeah Ayako is more like a druid, perhaps with this chapter you may know xD but nope Mai isn't a druid *hugs* is that shaman isn't wrong but not right either, there's a specific word for what she is and more accurate there's a compound word *giggles*

Karibel Q Flores: gracias! Me alegra saber q estoy mejorando! Ahorita viene lo mejor, la revelacion, El drama, El suspenso Todo en solo paquete hehehe...

CaitHawked4Ever: thank you so much! Yup they knew Mai needed a scolding for her to open her eyes to danger, but then again she was left off the hook due to her being able to form a bond. I thought so too! Naru never really bothered to know anything about Mai so when she revealed her situation he was like tf? I imagined he thought of her as a trouble maker child like Gene, quite a shock to his 'i know everything without the need to be told' deduction xD hope all went well and that you were able to get out a bit *hugs* I'm still on the forever lockdown until told out xD

Mortisvenom: his pride will never let him admit it xD stay safe best wishes over there*hugs* hopefully you get a chance to go where you need to *hands up* see you next time on the ghost hunt rewrite for the bloodstained lab! *Ending song on*

RichkeyZero: yus! I loved writing that *giggles and hugs* will try to update more often! The time has come after all muahahaha the blood stained lab is here *grins*


	30. Chapter 30

Behold, the long awaited bloodstained lab has come! Let's ignore the fact that I'm so busy I can't update that often... It's work so gotta do it. Btw one of the reviews given almost hit the spot on what Mai is, SilentResistance said she was a reiki so far this is the closest one but to be fair Mai is way more than that...

Let me recall some of the previous hints:

Lin said something was off about her, her hair grew because of it, she used it when she clapped and the building collapsed, Gene used it to make her forget about the kids on the doll house case, she used it on Naru to make him cry, used it on herself to be happy, she can heal, she can touch Lin's shiki, someone always appear whenever she prays for it, her eyes changed color when Kenji-kun possessed her... Am pretty sure you guys know deep down... She seemed to be able to use Naru's pure energy to some extent after absorbing it... It is because of what she is that she can see spirits since she used it almost the same way Gene has done so far.

Sounds familiar now? *Giggles*

* * *

After the new year celebration the office was quite peaceful. The regulars of SPR (monk, Ayako, Masako and John) had visited quite often, sometimes they all met and drank tea together, it made Naru say "this is not a coffee shop" so often that it became a greeting or more like their slogan. It was funny how he always said that but didn't actually kick them out like: when he ordered Lin to kick out the pretentious woman who had called him a "child" and had referred to herself as "guest"

Mai giggled as she cleaned up the mess the group had made. They left quite early this time but she didn't had time to feel sad about it.

Naru had stepped out from his office and sat on the sofa while calling out for tea. Blinking Mai didn't protest and did as was told.

'he looks worn out' she took notice of his complexion and handled him the tea.

Then she sat on her desk and worked on her homework as she tried to concentrate... She couldn't help but kept glancing at him, he was sorting out some files...

'he really needs a break'

As if to agree with her one of Lin's blobs landed on her head. She turned to look up, when it continued to bounce.

"Ah"

The blob literally landed on her face. She couldn't exactly breathe so she kinda made a mess with her pencil case and her desk. The blob however made happy sounds in mocking matter when she struggled to get him off.

Naru instantly turned to glare at her but she took the blob out of her face. She held it on one hand and then suddenly she snorted.

"Pffft" she held her mouth to keep herself from laughing with the other hand.

Naru raised an eyebrow, she noticed his gaze on her so she quickly explained.

"Lin's blobs have paws" she pointed at her hand but he couldn't see anything.

"You mean his shiki?"

She nodded multiple times but Naru leaned his head to the right as if to inquire about it

However since the blob wasn't released for a while, it appeared to have called it's master.

"!"

The tall assistant got out of his office and was about to open his mouth and order it's release but Mai cut him off.

"Lin-san is Naru unable to see them?"

"... Not many can. Now Release it, they are not something you can play with"

"Oh... In that case, can I try something? I will let it go if you don't want to, but I think I can make it visible for a bit"

Lin's face turned sour, he was getting angry. He had just said that they were not toys.

"... Let her try Lin. I will be held responsible if anything happens"

"That's ridiculous why would-" Lin protested but stopped, the look Naru gave him said it was not up for discussion.

Reluctantly Lin nodded, by experience he knew not to get on his way.

Mai somehow smiled awkwardly, she could feel Lin's dislike for her raising and the small blob on her hand was trembling

"Hey, it's alright this doesn't hurt" she said as her hands began to glow, in less than a second a blue blob could be seen. Naru instantly stood up and approached. Lin's eyes widened in surprise as he also stepped closer.

She showed the paws to Naru as she turned it around, the blob seemed to be annoyed as it moved it's paws up and down in an attempt to get away.

Naru nodded, he tried to touch the blob but Mai's instincts kicked in and she held it way from him.

"No... Um I don't know why but I don't think that's a good idea" Mai panicked

Raising an eyebrow the teen turned to his assistant.

"Lin, is it dangerous?"

Lin blinked then shook his head "he won't harm you but-" the advice to follow the warning died on his lips when Naru suddenly touched the blob.

".."

At first nothing happened and he kept poking it but when it began to shine Mai suddenly grabbed the front of her shirt.

She hadn't said a word for a while but now, Naru knew why, she was in pain. In so much pain that she couldn't speak.

"Mai-"

"Stop... Ugh... Too much... " tears threatened to fall but she held them off.

In less than a second the tall assistant finally realized what was going on.

He instantly pushed Naru away and Mai managed to released the blob. It flew like an arrow from left to right, from a corner to the other, crashing and bumping everything in it's way.

"What-" Naru called out but Lin made him dodge down

"You gave him too much energy"

Mai nodded and pointed to his hand as she tried her best to suppress her pain.

Dodging Naru took a look to his right hand... His eyes widened when he spread his five fingers... Between them a small electric current passed through.

He bit his lower lip to prevent himself from cursing out loud, between Mai and him, the bond had already started to form.

"..."

After a while, the blob stopped being visible and his rampage calmed down not long after.

...

Perhaps this was a lucky day, it's been a week since the incident with Lin's blob, Naru had gone on a trip to who knows where yesterday and Lin had gone to lunch early. She only had to stay at the office while he was out and she could go home on his return. It was quite the break she needed the most, she wasn't hurt or anything but rather...

The atmosphere between the three of them had turned awkward, it was tiring but not to the extent that it messed with their work.

' _save me'_

Mai spun her head to her back so fast she nearly fell from her chair. She could had sworn she heard a woman behind her.

"What-"

*Ding*

The bell from the door made her jump, she quickly composed herself and greeted the visit.

"Hi welcome to Shibuya Psychic Research, I'm Taniyama Mai, how can I assist you?" She bowed slightly to the woman.

"Oh my! I knew they hired a part timer but who would had known you would be so cute!" The woman of about 25 or 26 years cheerfully commented

Mai blushed and tried once again to get an answer "ano..."

"Ah am sorry, My name is Madoka Mori, is your boss available? I have a meeting with him"

"Oh I'm sorry, he's currently on a trip" Mai bowed again

"Ah it's alright, then, is Lin around?"

'Lin?' Mai blinked, something told her she was very close to both of them.

"He's out on a Lunch break, would you like to have a cup of tea and wait for him? He went out a while ago so it shouldn't take him long to come back"

"Sure, you can call me Madoka, may I call you Mai?"

"Yes please" Mai smiled and handed her the cup of tea, she served herself one and sat at the opposite side. "Um Madoka-san... I know this is sudden but, I can't help it, it's just... too distracting, May I know why your hair clip is shining?"

The young brunette hid her mouth with her cup as she awaited for the reply...

Madoka covered her mouth with her hand in a lady like manner and leaned her head to the right "pardon?"

"Ah no, I must had seen wrong, I mean your right hair clip with the fox cartoon was shining but it might had been the reflection of the light or something hahaha" clumsily she scratched the back of her head.

It was a split of a second, but Mai felt a shiver run down her back. It almost felt like Madoka-san had taken an interest in her, like if her smile had another meaning. Sort of...like... An evaluation process...

"..." The woman continued to smile at her with innocence but her half closed eyes held kin interest...

"Ah forgive me, please make yourself at home, I still need to work" Mai tried to excuse herself 'it was my imagination right?'

"Ne, Mai-chan, how long have you been seeing things?" She had taken out a note book from her purse

"...uh" Mai swallowed 'was this what they call an interview?'

*Ding*

Luck was definitely on her side today, the bell on the door rang and Lin came inside.

"Madoka" he sounded surprised

"Lin you could had taken your time you know,? your timing was bad this time" Madoka pouted as she closed her note book

A ghost of a smile lingered on his lips and he turned to look at Mai, he nodded to her, telling her it was okay to leave.

Nodding back Mai bowed before excusing herself to retire for the day

"Madoka-san it was a pleasure to meet you, I hope you enjoy your stay in Japan, hopefully will get time later on to speak freely. For now I must excuse myself"

Grabbing her backpack she quickly walked out of the office not noticing their widened eyes.

"Mo! Where on earth did you guys met such a powerful psychic, I didn't say anything and I'm confident that my accent can be considered local by now" Madoka grabbed Lin's arm.

"I'm sure it wasn't intended, after all she called Noll professor" Lin sighed.

"What? I need details! Luella needs to know this"

"About that... could you hold that for a while?"

"Eh? That's weird coming from you"

"You will see why, when you look at Noll and her together"

"Eh?"

Smirking he sat down and told her the details, Madoka's eyes sparkled in delight

...

Why was she feeling so spooked? All the way to the office she was feeling anxious, she held the door knob and entered not expecting the whole team to be assembled on the sofas, blinking she noticed Yasuhara as he waved at her...

"You're late" Naru called out

"Ah I'm sorry... I will go make tea right away" she threw her backpack to her desk and hurriedly went to the kitchenette...

'Naru's travels last at least a week. The long ones can take over 10 days. Just what on Earth is going on?: Perhaps that was the reason she felt so spooked?

Setting up a tray she went to deliver the drinks and sat down, everyone was congratulating Yasuhara for graduating and getting accepted on the university of his choice, Mai joined right away but when Madoka Mori entered and stood by Naru's side... Mai finally asked.

"Why is everyone here?"

"Well Naru called us in, I was wondering about the reason too" Ayako answered as she nodded to Madoka in greeting.

Naru sighed... "A client has offered us a new case, a big one, I will like to ask for everyone's help"

"Is it a request from the agent – a person called Ohashi?"

"Yes."

"He made his request to me last week."

Naru nodded.

"Then Hara-san must act independently."

"Of course, ask if there's anything I can help with."

Doll-san said that with a coy tone, smiling. Ayako raised her brows.

Naru only nodded, then looked straight at them

"The investigation will begin in 5 days. Is there anyone here who cannot participate?"

"..."

No one replied to Naru's words. After confirming that,

"I hope to receive everyone's help this time."

Naru turned to look at Yasuhara..

Upon seeing Yasuhara's gentle nod, Naru dropped a bomb.

"Yasuhara-kun, I would like to ask you to act as my substitute."

"Huh?" Everyone tilted their heads...

Madoka sighed...

"I'm really sorry. This child has such poor manners. Despite asking for help he is obviously lacking on explanation"

This… "This child"! Mai almost spilled her tea, 'they won't throw her out, right?' the brunette turned to look at Lin who had a poker face on but his blobs were laughing...

"Could everyone treat him as a person with an abnormal disposition and tolerate him please." the lady continued like it was nothing...

"Umm... Madoka-san, if you don't mind me asking, could we please know your relationship with Naru?"

"Ah thank you Mai-chan I almost forgot, I'm Madoka Mori, Naru's Master" she smiled as she continued before bowing "I taught him all he knows from Ghost hunting"

Everyone looked on blankly, while Naru looked extremely displeased and coughed once.

"… this is an extremely big job. It could even be called a job for publicity. The client has requested secrecy in its execution, but to what extent secrecy can be maintained I don't know. If the media gets wind of this I can imagine it turning into a big uproar. I did not want to accept it initially, but some events have occurred such that I had to accept. That's why I have requested Yasuhara-kun to be my substitute."

"So because you don't like the media you are forcing something you dislike onto someone else?" Bou-san teased

"I'm not particularly forcing you all. If you don't feel like it, you may leave."

When Naru said those cold words, once again Madoka-san interrupted everyone's words.

"Why don't you ask everyone nicely? You do wish for everyone to go together, right? That's why you have gathered everyone here, am I wrong?"

She put her hands on her hips...

"When you are asking people for something, do you use this tone to speak? I've clearly told you before – such a child that refuses to learn."

She was so firm, a few laughs escaped the monk and the Miko, even Lin had covered his mouth, but Mai was so busy admiring her to laugh about it...

"I'm so sorry he is such a mal-mannered child. Could everyone please not hate him."

"Madoka!"

Naru looks rather displeased

"Wha~t?"

In contrast, Madoka-san wore a smile that looked like heart symbols were about to come flying out.

"Could you be quiet for a while? I can't speak at all like this."

"Ah, if you insist, but watch your mouth" she leaned cutely to her right and flashed him a smile... Sparkles flew around as an invisible crown was added to her head.

Naru sighed longer this time...

Madoka turned around while Naru recovered his words...

"Naru really dislikes the publicity stage. He planned to refuse this job, but he accepted only because of my situation. Although I think it is going to trouble everyone, could everyone please help him."

Nodding everyone gave their thumbs up.

Naru cleared his throat and brought back everyone's attention.

"anyway, I will go as a simple investigator from this place."

'same as me, huh?' Mai leaned her head in wonder...

"Then, what is the client like this time?"Ayako asked.

Using a dangerous expression, Naru gave the name of Japan's former prime minister. Everyone was instantaneously stumped.

...

Discussion and preparation took 3 days. On the fourth day they set off for the distant Nagano-ken to begin the investigation.

* * *

Uff okay kinda short but the novel had the girls (Mai's friends that work on the office) talking too so had to skip that, the manga kinda jumps over to the mansion and later mentions how they got there, but I don't want to rush this so until next chapter.

You know what's funny, I actually thought of making Lin's shiki become a big animal but decided against it, after all it will drastically change everything xD this was the prologue so no,. no.

Also, Naru dear, the bond thingy had began to form since chapter 1 hahahahahahahahahahahah I specifically made you say you didn't wanted to make any bond xD whoops

Remember this is a rewrite, next chapter will begin to differ... with that said I hope you guys enjoy it *dance*

See you next time! Hopefully I will be able to write soon *hugs*

Review time!

Corpus: thank you! The kiss would had been hilarious on the anime, Mai doesn't know she did that so it might be a prob later hahaha and Naru hasn't come to terms with his feelings yet, so he doesn't know he had fallen for Mai. Jealousy is hard to notice that way xD Yas! Mine too I will try to make it scarier muahahaha *hugs*

Kallen21: thank yous! *Hugs* *gives chapter with a cookie*

Guest:the case is here *dances* it literally spooked Mai up from the beginning hahaha xD did you mentioned blood on the top?" Hahaha blood will literally be everywhere muahahaha thank yous *hugs* the big reveal may be next or the chapter after that one, it all depends on how much I can work on it, sorry *speaksnoevilmonkey* jelly is the best dessert xD

CaitHawked4Ever: glad you liked it! Lin will become a bit over protective because of that xD he no longer ignores Mai after all hahahaha the next case will definitely be worth writing. Happy belated birthday! I know it's kinda hard due to the lock down but I hope you had an amazing day! Best wishes for this year! *Hugs and gives cake*

SilentResistance: thank you so much! Love that you loved it, the five bucks Will be left on the air, reiki isn't exactly what Mai is *giggles* give her more power.*hugs*

Nagisa Akabane: thank you so much! Stay safe as well *hugs* eagerly waiting to write soon.

Karibel Q Flores: siii ya viene lo bueno, me encantaria hacer El chapter lo mas pronto posible pero El trabajo me tiene atada, pronto pronto!

LoverofAnime27 thank you so much *hugs* yup we're leveling up for better *salutes* am happy to hear you're safe too! It means a lot to read your replies and encouragements for real it's truly appreciated *hearts* initially both Ayako and Masako were supposed to be there but it would be a lie that they would had stepped out from taking care of Kenji in my rewrite so it would had been difficult for Kenji to run away... *Giggles* i thought of different scenarios for the scolding but the biggest scold a part timer student can be given is calling for their parents but that itself meant Naru would had discover she was an orphan *hides* it's a secret not intended since Mai doesn't actually hides it but doesn't really go around telling it, after all pity can hurt too... I laughed too writing it, is not like he was purposely using it, he was so angry he couldn't control it properly that's why Lin didn't told him to keep himself together hahaha yup Lin shiki are intelligent enough to share thoughts with Lin, Mai however can only hear them laughing, growling or making chipping mocking sounds the reason is that Lin has a contract with them... *Covers mouth* I share the sentiment, Naru had built an iron wall so tall that he doesn't look what's around him, he tries to isolate himself as to not care for anyone else, he lost someone dear to him, doesn't want it to happen again. This will be the case Lin finds out it was Gene, I can't wait to write that off xD no worries I plan to have Madoka take the place to scold her properly, Ayako had given up on that roll and both Lin and Naru had overlooked it for so long that it will be a mess if they take charge now... Mai wanted to point it out since the beginning but it was Naru's fault for ordering to take care of the kids xD the kiss definitely brought attention to both Lin and Naru she was just so cute and jelly was the top of the top xD Naru not knowing Mai's address shows how much he wants to stay away from forming a bond, he regrets it but has been postponing it because of the awkwardness of the request, since she could inquire on his address xD Lin knows but doesn't accept it because what she is isn't exactly likeable to him, he is actually caring a bit like a dad after what happened to Kenji so a blob will always follow her like one follows Naru xD. Yup although shaman is close reiki is even closer, she is a human so Goddess is out too xD kaminchu is close, yuta more likely but Mai has no obligation to kami so although similar it ain't right either... Mmm well you may find what I mean next chapter or the one after, I will explain properly why shaman or reiki or yuta isn't right *hugs* thank you so much * shares cookies with Mai while we dance the proposal song with the fire in between* (she is bad-mouthing Naru)

RichkeyZero: thank you! Sorry for the delay! This is the prologue but soon the mansion will be here *hugs* will try to finish work early to update soon!

Mortisvenom: thank yous! This is the best arc so I will do my best *dances* yup! I believe I will make a poll on the last arc of the manga which is the forgotten children, to see if most of you want me to continue... till a bit after the house where nightmare dwells *giggles* the sequel... Classes are doing great! Thank yous*huuuugs* stay safe as well!

Hikari Ino: thank you greatly! You're correct the blood stained lab is here muahahaha hope you like this one too *hugs*


End file.
